Haven of Memories
by Jini
Summary: Former member No.13 Roxas is out to find Sora. Meanwhile, Kairi is still on Destiny Island, waiting for a boy she hardly remembers. A chance meeting with Roxas lands them both on a new journey. However the search for truth comes with a heavy price.
1. On the run

Summary: He had been living a lie all his life it would seem; memories of what never occurred push Roxas into searching for Sora on his own. However, the journey for truth comes with a heavy price.

Warning: Just a note, there _are_ **spoilers** from **Kingdom Hearts II** here. So if you haven't played the game yet, GO PLAY -- this might be a tad confusing for you if you don't. Also, pairings may vary.

Author's Note: The plot line here is a little jumbled in contrast to the game, however it is still relative. I just thought Roxas deserved to have a bigger role in the story because he sure as hell didn't get enough screen play in my opinion! -Goes on a rampage-

Anyway, read and enjoy!

* * *

**Haven of Memories **

**Chapter One: On the Run **

_Three Years Ago…_

"Sora, you are going to have to choose," said Namine carefully. "You can regain the memories of this castle and lose the ones you've lost forever, or forget about Castle Oblivion and regain your old memories."

Sora looked torn. He didn't want to have to choose between his lost memories and the ones he had now. He looked down at his hands, at the good luck charm Kairi had given him; he missed her so much and more… his heart wanted nothing more than to remember that smile he always loved and those times she stood beside him. But – looking at Namine – he could not deny that his heart held something for her smile too. Oh, what was he going to do? He loved Kairi, and yet… he also cared a lot for this other girl, one whom he was never even supposed to have known, let alone care this deeply about.

"I want… I want to have both… so much," said Sora quietly. He looked up at Namine again. "But I know I can't."

Namine smiled sadly. "That's right," she said softly. "You can't have both."

Sora nodded solemnly, and looked on at Donald and Goofy. They had expressions of both sympathy and sadness; the moment their eyes crossed they immediately looked away, knowing pity was the last thing Sora wanted to see from them.

"Okay," said Sora, gritting his teeth. "I choose…" Donald and Goofy both looked back at him with a new expression of anticipation and anxiety; Namine's eyes were round, and Sora could easily see the hope that was radiating from within them. Sora swallowed, knowing that once he said his decision he would never be able to take it back. He wished dreadfully that Namine wouldn't look at him like that; it was making it a whole lot harder for him to tell her. He let out a breath. "I choose…"

"It's okay," said Namine abruptly. "Just because you won't remember me anymore doesn't mean they were never really there, right Sora?"

Sora looked at her. She was trying to show him that she was fine by smiling, when really… he could see very clearly that she was a little less than okay; she was heartbroken. And what was more painful than that was… he hadn't even said a word what he wanted yet.

"But, uh," said Goofy, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "If we forget you… how will we be able to thank you?"

"I have a solution to that," said a tiny voice. Sora looked at his shoulder, and there was Jiminy Cricket, umbrella on one arm and his journal on the other. "I'll just write a reminder in my journal: thank Namine."

Namine clapped happily. "That's a brilliant idea!" she said. "But chaining back your memories is a year long process; I'll have to put you four into sleep for the time being. Don't worry --" she waggled a finger teasingly at Donald's horrified expression. "—I'll take care of you."

Sora could have sworn he saw Namine look at him briefly after saying this, but by then she was already leading Donald, Goofy and Jiminy to another room.

"What if something should go wrong?" said Donald, skeptically. "After all… you've been screwing around with our memories the moment we got to this stupid castle, and we all know what a mess that made."

"Donald!" Sora snapped.

"What?" said Donald irritably, turning on him now. "It's true. I just want to make sure we end up in one piece is all."

Sora scowled, and took one step toward Donald, ready to pummel him with his bare fists, but as fast as his temper flew the faster it was to disappear. He felt Namine's hand grab his arm, giving it a little tug, telling him to stop and that it was okay. Sora elated (for now), and lowered his fist back to his side.

"Okay," said Namine quickly. "You three better get going. If you want your memories back I have to get to work as soon as possible."

Goofy, Jiminy and a reluctant Donald entered the next room. Silence soon filled in the room, and Sora, suddenly wished the other three didn't leave him alone with Namine. Yeah, sure he did needed to talk with her, but just the idea of it unnerved him.

Namine stood with her back facing toward him, making it tremendously difficult for him to see what expression she may have on her face. Sora bit his lip; he had to speak he knew… but he had no idea how what exactly to tell her. He was afraid of saying something upsetting… after all, this was his last moment with her, and he didn't want to muck it up by saying something stupid. But God… what to say?

_I'm sorry? No… that would feel too much like I was feeling sorry for her, when I don't. Namine… I don't want to have to leave you alone… I care about you a lot… but there's Kairi… and I can't just forget about Kairi… I won't. Oh if you only knew how hard this was… _

"You don't have to say anything." Namine's voice was clear and strong. She turned around to face him; there was a wide smile on her face, making the room seem that much brighter, and Sora, despite everything, couldn't help but like the look on her. "I knew you'd choose your old memories, Sora… I saw the answer in your eyes the moment I asked you; there was no need for you to say anything." She took a step closer to him so that they were now standing face to face. "I know you'll never be able to remove Kairi from your heart, and asking you to forget about her isn't what I wanted. What I want is for you to be happy, and I know remembering Kairi has always made you happy."

Her smile wavered slightly. She backed away from him, but he was quicker. Sora grabbed her hand and pulled her to a hug.

"I promise… I promise I won't forget you. When I wake up… I'll find you," he told her desperately.

He felt Namine smile against his cheek. "You'll only forget," she said.

Sora shook his head as he looked at her in the face again. "I won't," he said firmly. "I promise I'll find you."

Namine stared at him before smiling. "Okay… it's a promise."

"Like you said right?" said Sora, grinning. "Just because I'll forget them… doesn't mean they were never really there."

"You're right… We'll meet again. Now… go… there should be a pod ready for you."

"A… pod?" said Sora, confused. "You mean like a pea pod or something?" He tried to envision that in his head, but in the end he thought the idea was ludicrous, and he doubt if Riku found him dressed in one he'd ever live it down..

Namine giggled. "No, silly…" she took him by the hand and led him into a spare room, apart from Goofy, Donald and Jiminy. It was a wide room, even wider than the white room he was just in earlier. And there alone was a kind of glass lotus. Sora stared at it blankly. A pod? This was a pod? His idea of it being a pea pod vanished instantly, and he took on a look of pure relief.

Namine noticed and giggled again. "Okay," she said and walked over to a computer that was stationed just right in front of the pod. She hit a couple buttons before the pod opened; exhaust fumes shot out from the edges until it finally settled without another sound. Sora looked even more incredulous, but was obviously impressed. Namine smiled. "It'll be fine. Just hop onto the centre there, and then let me do the rest."

Sora did as he was told. Once inside the casket, Namine typed away again at the keyboards and Sora saw as the pod began to close back shut; the glass cocoon enveloping him and minimizing his surroundings. At last, he heard Namine's voice loud and clear within the sphere.

"Once I make these last adjustments… the process should begin right away," she said.

Sora gave her a thumbs-up, along with a reassuring smile. "Okay, I trust you."

"Sora?" Namine said, her voice becoming soft. "I'll miss you…" He detected a hint of sadness riding along the corners of her voice, but it immediately changed as soon as she smiled again. "But… until then I'll wait for you."

As she typed away, and his vision began losing its focus, he found himself saying softly – whether he knew it or not – "I'll miss you too… Namine…"

And then his vision went black.

* * *

_Three years later…_

"_Roxas… Roxas… Roxas… you traitor…" _

Roxas bolted like lightning. It was a reaction, like any other one would have after a terrifying nightmare. But… like all reactions, they made horrible after effects. Roxas groaned as an instant headache came to him in a rush. He fell back on the pillows clutching his forehead as though willing it not to explode. On the side was a table, he blindly reached for something – an ice pack, a hammer, an anything – to make this agonizing sensation go away.

He squinted open one eye and was triumphant when he saw just what he needed. Aspirin. It would be his best friend for life if he ever made it through this night alive. He took a couple, popped it into his mouth and then drowned it down with some water. He fell back on the bed, placed a pillow over his eyes, so as to block out whatever light was left in the room (and there already was very little since he'd nailed the curtains onto the wall), and tried to catch some sleep, although quite aware that was nearly impossible now with this roaring headache.

Besides… even if he did manage to fall asleep, he would only wake up again due to another disturbance known as freakish nightmares. It was on nights like these, when it would rain hard like nothing else and the street lights could no longer be seen through the fogs, that he'd have it the worse; they would keep coming after one dream, until he would just quit sleeping that night all together. To make matters simple, Roxas was very cranky.

And what made it worse was… he had dreams of people, of events, of bloody places he'd never even seen before. It was very frustrating, because in the nights he'd awake, gasping for his breath after yet another reoccurring nightmare, he would actually believe that he'd done all those things; that he'd seen and met and talked with all these people and that he'd been to just about every corner of the universe. And nothing pissed off Roxas more than waking up thinking you were somebody else.

Well, this would all be over just as soon as he found Him. Whoever 'he' was… Roxas had never met him before in his life, and he sure as hell was not going to spend the rest of his sorry days dreaming about a total stranger and losing one more night worth of sleep over it, not if he had anything to say about it that is. This was his own mind; it was his and his alone, no one else's; he was going to win that right back.

Suddenly, Roxas heard someone knocking on the door, followed by a droned, "_For room 513." _Roxas turned around in his position, and pressed the pillows closer toward his ears, so as to filter out that annoying racket; maybe if he didn't answer they'll go away. Apparently, this guy could not take a hint, and when Roxas didn't answer right away, they proceeded to knock, even louder perhaps, much to Roxas's chagrin. It did NOT help matters for his headache at all, which was banging alongside the sound of the knocks, making Roxas feel like his head was being split opened by chain saw.

_Okay! I'll get up… Just, please, stop knocking! _Roxas kicked off the blankets and rolled off the bed, making his way unsteadily towards the door, where the knocking (kill me now, he thought desperately) was still continuing. He hardly noticed at all that he was clad in only his dark pants, which was falling down his waist and revealing his black boxers underneath, and that he was without a shirt on.

He opened the door, poked his head out, and said, his tone suggesting he was ready to chew the person's head off, "Yeah… yeah… what do you want?"

It was a woman. Blonde hair, typical waitress's outfit with a blue dress and a white apron, along with another typical get up: a bandana. One the right hand side of her apron was a tag that said: _Delilah_ in bold letters; all in all it was someone he was NOT at all. It wasn't his style to beat on women, so incapacitating her ass for making his splitting headache turn steadily into a migraine in thirty seconds flat was no longer an option, but that didn't stop him from still being irritated to the point where he just _might _decide to incapacitate her ass.

At first she looked startled by his lack of politeness, and then she looked incredibly embarrassed when she saw that he was standing there, half-naked, in front of her. She was quick to look down at her shoes, her cheeks flaming.

"Sorry to… uh… disturb you, sir… but…" She handed him a slip of paper. "You have a call on line 4."

That brought Roxas back to his senses. A call? He thought. The woman known as Delilah refused to meet his eye, but it was more than a little obvious to say that she was still _looking_ at him. However, Roxas was too deep in thought to actually realize this; in fact… he probably wouldn't have realized it anyway.

_A call? _He thought again, thinking this was the strangest thing. _A call from whom? No one knows I'm…here…_ His inner voice trailed off as realization hit him with a bag of bricks, which would have further aggravated his headache if he wasn't so shocked about the idea in the first place.

_Shit… they found me. _

Without a word, he dashed back into his room, the door still ajar. He stood in the middle, his mind racing and his headache forgotten (momentarily). If the Organization knew where he was, he would need to get out of here, pronto. He started for the bedside table and threw opened the lid; his hands flew for his possession (which was not a lot): his handy-dandy supply belt, his first aid kit and a sack of munny, and, just because he thought he would need it later on, the bottle of aspirin. He pulled up his pants, fastened it, and threw on his shirt. Over by the other side of the room was the washroom, where he had hung up his trench coat over the tub to dry from the rain. Beneath the bed he found his black combat boots; he slipped them on, tied them tightly and was just about to make his retreat when the phone rang.

Roxas tensed. The phone kept ringing; a little red light flashed just at the line where it had the number four beside it. Roxas battled with himself between answering it and letting it be. It kept ringing; Roxas stood frozen where he was.

"Um… aren't you going to answer it, sir?" said Delilah. She had come into his room and he had not even noticed. Roxas didn't answer her; he stood where he was, staring at the device before him with a hard expression. Delilah inclined her head curiously. "Sir?"

She reached over for the phone before Roxas even knew what was happening.

_No!_

"Hello?" There was a pause after she'd said it, but by now Roxas had finally made up his mind to just let it ring. It was too late now. Delilah looked at him, her expression blank. "It's for you…" she whispered.

Roxas swallowed, walked up to her and took the phone from her. It took a while before he placed the receiver next to his ear. "Hello?" he said quietly.

"_Roxas…they're coming for you. They're close by."_ It was a voice he didn't recognize. He pressed the phone closer to his ear, as though there were security cameras zeroing in on everything he said and did; Delilah was wandering around his room, totally oblivious. She stopped right in front of his bed, which was still made and the pillows were half-falling from the mattress – needless from the look on her face she was disgusted by the sight.

"Who are you?" Roxas hissed.

"_A friend."_

"I think I need a name, buddy, I can't just take your word for it that you're really my 'friend'," said Roxas, thinking this was downright hilarious. "Otherwise… how do I know I can trust you? You could be one of them sent out to capture me for all I know."

The phone was muffled by the static created by the storm, that Roxas had a hard time hearing what they said this time. But he heard something that switched a light in his head in an instant. _"I know…Sora." _

"Sora?" he demanded, his attempt at not being heard flew out the window. "Where is he? Tell me where he is?" Delilah, who'd just finished making his bed, looked up from her handy-work and frowned.

"_I know you're looking for him… But you will have to hurry. You don't have much time; the people who are after you will be there soon. If you want to find Sora, or better yet save yourself, I suggest you trust me." _More static; the line was close to ending, which meant he was running out of time to decide.

Roxas cursed; he'd walked into that one blindly. But… he supposed he'd have to risk it. He had no choice. Damn, he thought, this bites. Finally, he said, being sure to sound bitter about it, "Where do I go?"

"_Outside the town there should be a small cavern. Be there in ten. I'll be waiting." _And then the line went dead.

Roxas glared at the phone before putting it down. He walked out of the room, totally ignoring the fact that Delilah was following after him. He opened the door outside the motel. It was still raining. And maneuvering his way around town was going to be hectic with the added fog. Roxas scowled. Could this get any worse?

He was sorry he asked.

Behind him Delilah pierced his ear drums with a terrifying scream. Roxas whirled around fast and saw a white ephemeral light raise beneath the floorboards. The light soon faded and in its place stood a creature in white, with blue, blinking streams decorated all around its body; they didn't have hands, but rather they were shaped like the pointed edge of a knife, glinting and lethal-looking. The way it walked was just as strange as its appearance; instead of running or walking in a upward fashion, it swayed and slithered from side to side, much like a snake would. It was coming for Delilah, who'd bumped against the wall helplessly.

Roxas took on battle stance. He felt the familiar warmth fill the palm of his hands, a pool of light fleeted for a second between his fingers before something heavy fell into his grasp. A voice in his head from years before echoed in his mind as he swirled both energies in both his hands…

_Keyblade… Keyblade… Keyblade… _

Delilah looked mesmerized by the said items. One was a beautiful white that looked like it had the wings of an angel spread just above the hilt, making Delilah think it was a weapon of God – or so it appeared; the other one, however, was dark and shaded almost purely in black – a look that was most unholy like compared to the one in white. But there was something about the two of them together that gave a sense of massive power, unbelievable strength and universal balance.

"A key…and a sword…as one?" she whispered, before falling faint on the floor.

Roxas swung both Keyblades forward, cutting across the creature with ease. It withered away and dissipated the moment he'd hit it. He stood up and pushed his bangs away from his eyes. _Dusks_, Roxas scowled, _damn…_ He was lucky it was only one so far… but many more wouldn't be far behind, he was sure. Other than his stupid dreams, Sora, and the damn organization… this was another annoyance he was positive he could live without.

Delilah's groan called Roxas to attention. He ran to her side and kneeled beside to her; he turned her face over so that he could examine her face, checking for signs of injuries. She was out cold, but other than that she was perfectly fine. Looking around, he thought, _I can't just leave her here… more Dusks could come and get her. _He heaved her over his shoulder and placed her gently in a broom closet he found at random. It wasn't very spacey nor was it cozy – a certain place not quite favored by anyone to be in he was sure, but it was safe enough for the time being. Besides, he was in a hurry; she'd thank him later for this.

Delilah made a jerk against his arm, and looked up at him in a daze. "W-what? Who are you?" she said faintly.

Roxas rolled his eyes, but gently silenced her. "Stay here. Don't come out, do you hear?"

Delilah didn't say anything; Roxas looked closer at her and realized that she'd fainted again. He felt his eye twitch at the sight; he ran a hand over his face, feeling the urge to just hit himself. Woman… they were such a complication. Behind him he heard the sound of more Dusks appearing. He quickly placed Delilah against the wall, shut the closet door and ran out the Motel, into the dark, rainy streets.

It was official. He was lost. Running down the streets for two and half minutes was beginning to look the same. Was it just him or did he passed that sign three times already? Okay, it was officially official: he was so totally screwed. He looked at his watch; just five minutes left and counting. Damnit… if only it wasn't so foggy out.

"My, my… if it isn't the Keyblade's chosen one all grown up."

That voice… Roxas whirled around in his spot. It was hard to make out who it was, but Roxas definitely recognized the hair, silhouette or not. The man was dressed much in the same fashion as him; dark pants, black boots and that undeniable Organization trench coat. The only thing that stood different between them was height and hair. The man was obviously much taller than he was, and the hair – spikier and out of control, not to mention bright _red_.

In spite of himself, Roxas could not help but grin.

"Axel…" he said.

Axel shook his head with evident dissatisfaction. "Ah Roxas, you disappoint me," he said solemnly. "I can't believe it has come to this. But…I'm giving you one last chance to forget this futile mission of yours and return to the Organization; I bet if you came back now you'll get away with minimum punishment."

Roxas sighed sadly and shook his head. "You know I can't, Axel."

It was Axel's turn to smile. "Heh… funny… I had a feeling you'd say that, and yet… like a fool I hoped you'd say otherwise…"

"Axel… " said Roxas, feeling a pang of guilt.

"No, no… it's okay," said Axel, making hand gestures for him to not to come near him. "Look I really don't want to fight you. But if you don't come with me I won't have a choice." A look of sadness passed through his eyes in an instant. "Don't you miss the old days?"

Roxas looked down. The old days with Axel and the Order… If he came back he'd never find out the truth about himself and his connection with Sora. He'd be back to knowing nothing. Looking at Axel, standing in front of him in this street, made Roxas remember something from before.

"_Your mind's made up, huh?" said Axel, who was leaning against the wall of a building. _

_Roxas stopped where he was and looked at him. "Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know." _

_And in a rush, he was angry, hitting his fist on the concrete behind him; for a moment Roxas could have sworn he saw a flame ignite between his fingers. "You can't turn on the Organization!" Axel shouted. "They'll track you down and destroy you!" _

_Roxas looked away. "No one would miss me," he said quietly and proceeded to walk away, unaware that Axel was looking after him with an expression akin to 'I would' on his face. _

"So… are you coming… or not?" Axel spoke up, calling Roxas back to attention.

Roxas dug his fingers into the flesh of his palm. "I can't."

Axel smiled again, but now it held an expression Roxas could no longer recognize, or like for that matter.

"Okay… I see how it is."

Roxas, without warning, was surrounded by flames; they were dancing around him, nearing closer and closer until he could practically feel them burn his skin.

"My mission was to bring you back alive," said Axel, in a low dangerous voice. In his hands were Charkams that floated above his hands with ignited little tiny flames all around its rims, "but now… I don't care if I bring you back alive… OR DEAD!"

Axel shot fire from his dual weapons at him. Roxas did a double on the ground, dodging his attack. "Axel, stop! I don't want to fight you!" he shouted. Axel shot another fireball at him, to which he dodged again, but barely this time; the shoulder of his jacket was burnt with a hole at the middle, the remains of the fire glowed faintly before slowly dying. "Axel! We're supposed to be best friends!"

"Oh now you remember?" Axel hollered. "I'm so FLATTERED! But you're too late!"

Roxas jumped on the side of the building, deflecting the shots with his Keyblades. He jumped back down on the ground and went for cover behind another building. He was running out of time, he thought. Gazing at the giant clock tower, he saw the hands struck 11:57; only three more minutes till ten minutes were up.

"Roxas, come out, come out where ever you are!" Axel's voice bounced around the sides of the building.

_But first…I have to avoid Axel without getting cooked to a toast. _

He snuck a glance to check for Axel's position. The street was completely empty, and looked almost peaceful; save for the burnt rubble, the half-broken down buildings and the rain tapping at the ground like it was angry at it – all was fine. Roxas looked around again just to make sure before –

"Surprised!" Axel was right in front of him, grinning like a mad man.

Roxas felt himself being knocked back against the wall on the other end of the street, which gave way seconds after he'd collided against it. He groaned as he pushed off the heavy and broken debris which had fallen on him during his fall; not only was his entire

body now ringing with pain but his bloody headache was back, and with a vengeance. Roxas looked to his side and found the Oblivion Keyblade lying just beneath some concrete, but where was –

"Looking for this?" Axel's boots came into Roxas's vision. Roxas gazed upward and spotted the Oathkeeper in Axel's hands. He was swirling it around in his right hand, feeling its weight with both before swirling it around again with his left. "You know I'm surprised with you, Roxas," he said, clipping his tongue. "Normally you wouldn't be this easy to knock down. My, you must have really let yourself go these past few months, haven't you?"

Despite his pain, Roxas felt himself smile slyly. "Hm… not really," he said, and within the second the Oathkeeper had vanished from Axel's possession and back into Roxas's waiting hand. Axel looked startled by this unexpected move, a moment Roxas took this

time to shoot a beam of light from the ends of his Keyblades, sending Axel on the opposite end of him, straight into a brick wall.

Roxas heaved himself up with the aid of his weapons and grinned wearily. "You were saying, Axel? I still got some tricks up my sleeve."

The temperature increased dramatically, and soon enough the building on the other end had gone up in flames. Axel stood amongst the flare, looking murderous, his green eyes burning with the urge to kill.

"This is IT! Roxas," he hissed, "Call yourself a dead man!"

Axel charged straight toward him, charkams at both hands and with a raging inferno circling from its centre like a tornado. Roxas was having a hard time standing in both feet, but he held the Keyblades tightly and took on a defensive stance.

"Prepare to die!" Axel yelled and shot the charkams in a finishing blow. However, the attack never came; instead the charkams seemed to have halted in mid-air. On the other side, Axel was frozen too. Roxas gazed up at the sky and all around him – even the raindrops, which moments before were whacking away at his skin, had stopped in mid-fall. Time, apparently, had stopped. Literally.

Then… he heard a voice – the same voice from the phone call at the motel – speak loud and clear in his ear: _Roxas, to the cavern, quick! You haven't much time! Go, now!_

Roxas didn't need telling twice. His foot bolted, despite its cries for him to stop, and he tore off down the streets and out the city. He looked back to where Axel still was, but that glimpse was only for a moment; he soon turned his eyes back onto the road and never looked back again.

Roxas finally reached the outskirts of the city, which was just a wild field of flowers that seemed to go on forever. However, off on the side was a hillside, to where he spotted – to the caller's word – a small cavern that wasn't too noticeable in the dark. However, lucky for him he had excellent tracking skills. He dashed towards the entrance of the cavern, which soon led him to a very narrow trail. As soon as he reached the end of it, he was devastated when he came face to face with… a dead end.

He cursed. So this was all the rush for? He battled Dusks and even his best friend, whom Roxas was positive, would hate him for the rest of his life, all for the sake of a block at the end of the road? Roxas swore again, and, out of fury, summoned the Oblivion to his hand; he moved around the cave whacking away at dead roots, at rocks -- at anything he could sick his Keyblade on and exact his anger towards.

"You might want to save that pent up anger… for the real enemies that are coming," said a sing-song voice. Roxas turned around. Someone was standing in the darkness; had they been there before or did they just appear now? Roxas wondered. But that wasn't the point; Roxas was still pissed.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me you were there all this time?" he demanded. "Here I am wasting valuable energy thinking this was all a set-up and getting pissed over nothing when really you were here all this time? Gee thanks," he added sarcastically.

The person chuckled, irritating Roxas even further. Him acting like an idiot was not a laughing matter, at least not to him. "I am deeply sorry about that. Although, I must admit it was quite entertaining while it lasted."

Roxas crossed his arms and huffed grumpily. "Okay, whatever, you had your laugh. So what the hell is this for?"

"I… I can't tell you that, at least not yet," the person said.

"Why not?" said Roxas impatiently? "You said you knew Sora and that you knew I was looking for him. I want answers."

"I'm sorry… I can't. Now's not the time."

Roxas opened his mouth to argue further, but he heard something – the sound of slithering Dusks making their way down the cavern.

The person jumped from their place in the shadows. "Damnit… they found us already. And I was hoping for more time to explain. No matter… Roxas, come here."

Roxas frowned, but did as he was told. He started forward, until the unknown person stood before him. Now, at a different time Roxas would've been hysterical about it, however once the person saw his eyes contract he/she/it placed a finger over their lips to silence him.

"Now isn't the time for that. I'll explain it all to you later in the next time we meet," he/she/it said. "For now… I'm going to open a rift through space. It'll transport you someplace safe until I find you again." The person extended their hand to the side of the wall where a black pool of darkness sprouted from it.

Roxas wanted to say something -- he could feel the sarcastic remark rolling eagerly at the edge of his tongue, just ready to be spilled out, but it was too late. Behind him the Dusks were swaying towards them, and not too far behind was a head of bright red hair. Axel. Roxas turned to the unknown person again and then at the black hole.

"ROXAS!" Axel roared as soon as he spotted him. "Get back here; I'm not through with you!"

He shot missiles of fiery flames.

"Roxas, go now!" He/she/it had intervened right away, creating a shield around them which deflected Axel's awesome attacks. Axel shot again, looking frustrated. The unknown person's grip on the shield was beginning to waver; both Axel and Roxas noticed that. Axel grinned victoriously and continued his raid of fireball attacks. The unknown person looked at Roxas. "I'll hold him off. GO! Now!"

Roxas couldn't decide, because the unknown person created a wind spell that sent Roxas flying backwards, right into the black hole. In the void, his world soon faded and started to spin, over and over; Roxas shut his eyes tight as he tumbled his way back into darkness.

* * *

A/N: Well, tell me what you think? Was it good, bad – what? Thanks for reading. Please review! 


	2. Blue eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Sad but true. Original ideas and characters, however, belong to me.

* * *

**Haven of Memories**

**Chapter Two: Blue Eyes **

It was only four in the afternoon, but the sun was already setting in the horizon. A teenaged girl with long red locks stood at the top of the road. The wind swept passed her, pushing her hair into her face; she placed a hand over her head to quell it from becoming a mess. When the wind stopped blowing she continued her walking.

It was the end of another long day of school, but like the day before she felt she hadn't absorbed anything. Her mind was elsewhere, dreaming, always constantly thinking about that far-off place she hadn't dared gone to in months. She sighed. Oh how she'd missed that place, but revisiting it seemed wrong… especially when returning there would only make her remember what she had effortlessly forgotten. Perhaps when she finally remembered what exactly it is she'd forgotten she wouldn't feel so bad about forgetting in the first place.

She fixed her blue striped skirt and patted the hem of her white shirt down for good measure; she gripped the strap of her bag tightly in one hand before continuing her walk again.

"Kairi, wait up!"

The redhead turned around at the sound of her name. Up ahead was a brown-haired girl, who was much shorter than she was and had a pair of bright green eyes; she was dressed in the same school uniform as her and carrying a brown handbag. Kairi smiled pleasantly as the other girl finally caught up with her.

"Hey," she said, as they started walking down the road, "do you want to go up to the island today? Tidus and Wakka are all wrapped up in their ball game and won't go with me." She said this with a look of pure disdain on her face. "I don't understand what's with those two and that bloody sport," she added grumpily.

"I guess it's the same for them with you and hair-care products," Kairi teased. It was always funny to think about, but whenever Selphie went on about her hair and guys at school she thought were cute Wakka and Tidus would get this bizarre look on their faces like they'd both been knocked in the face with a blitz ball.

Selphie huffed. "W-well… at least I make an attempt to understand them," she went on defensively. "With me they just run away. Stupid boys; I don't know why I bother." She shook her head as though to carry out her sudden lack of respect for the male species. Then she looked back to Kairi and smiled. "Anyway, back to more important matters; how about it? You in?"

Kairi looked puzzled. "What?" she said. "I'm sorry."

"The island, remember?" said Selphie, rolling her eyes.

Kairi's smile faded instantly. Oh yeah… the island, she thought, with a sudden pang. She couldn't go back there, at least yet. She shook her head. "Not today," she said softly, "sorry."

"Aw, why not?" Selphie whined.

Kairi drew a breath. She could tell Selphie was watching her and that avoiding the question was not an option anymore. "Do… do you remember those boys who used to hang out with us?" she asked; whether Selphie was surprised by the inquiry or not, Kairi forced herself to keep her eyes set dead ahead.

"You mean Riku?" said Selphie.

Kairi nodded, but kept her eyes on that rock she'd spotted laying flat on the road. "Yeah…"

"I wonder what happened to him," said Selphie thoughtfully. "I sure miss him."

Kairi missed him too, dreadfully. But something in her heart told her that he'd be okay; she was sure of it. "He's far away," she said, feeling herself smile at the thought of her old friend. "But I know we'll see him again."

Selphie agreed. "Sure, of course we will!"

"And… the other boy?" said Kairi, her voice a whisper.

"What other boy?"

"The one who was with Riku and me all the time," said Kairi. "We played together on that island… His voice always used to be there… but now it's gone. I…I can't think of his face… or his name; I feel awful about it." And she did. "So I told myself: I'm not going back to the island until I remember everything about him."

Selphie seemed perturbed by this. "Are you sure you didn't make him up?" she said carefully. "I don't remember there ever being another boy with you and Riku."

Kairi bit her lip. She could hardly remember him either, but something deep within her kept telling her otherwise. It wasn't a feeling she could simply will away whenever she pleased, nor was it something she could just pretend didn't exit; as much as she wanted to forget she couldn't. She had to believe in 'him', whoever he was -- and whether or not he was real or pretend.

She shook her head in response to Selphie's question.

_Kairi…? _

Kairi turned her head and looked around, but saw no one else other than Selphie beside her, who was digging through her hand bag for something. Kairi wondered who had called her name just now – it didn't sound anything like Selphie, but it resembled vaguely of someone awfully familiar. Kairi winced, suddenly feeling a headache coming on; she pressed her hand over her forehead, willing the pain to ease away, but it seemed to be doing the total opposite.

"_Kairi… Kairi… Kairi…"_

Voices… more voices… They were calling her name. They were everywhere. There was a ringing in her ear that was getting louder by the second, although with her head in pain and her world swirling in circles, Kairi was having a hard time deciphering which of those voices was real… and which were not. She heard her name being called again, but this time it was loud and clear, and there was only one. It sounded a lot like a boy's voice.

When she looked up, she caught a brief glance of someone with hair that stood on ends and dressed in a red jumper before she was engulfed in white light.

_She looked down at her feet; something was beginning to form. What she was standing on she didn't know, but it was starting to look an awful lot like sand. _

"_Kairi… Kairi!" _

_She gazed up ahead and saw a boy with brown spiky hair, wearing a white hooded jacket and red overalls – running straight toward her. Sand forgotten she went to meet the boy half-way. _

"_Sora! Ah!" There was an eruption of some sort that gave way, and both chunks of land they were standing on were slowly beginning to part. The boy 'Sora' grabbed her hand before she fell, steadying her to her feet. He looked at her urgently. "Kairi, you remember what you said before? I'm always with you too—"she could barely cling onto his fingers any longer. "—I'll come back to you! I promise!"_

"_I know you will!" she cried, just as he was ripped away from her. Stars that had once fallen from their place in the sky were back just where they should be; little specks of white light sparkled all around them, falling and fading as it began to form something – like a puzzle piece in a giant set, all coming into one. The sand she was standing on grew enormous, and behind her she could distinctly make out bushes and a waterfall… She gasped. The worlds – Destiny Island was reconstructing again; she was going back. _

_But Sora… She watched helplessly as he started to drift away, out of sight behind that blue spectral cloud; he was calling out to her… but by then she could hardly hear what he was saying anymore. _

_It wasn't long before he disappeared, along with that blue cloud of light and she was left alone. _

"Kairi… Kairi… are you okay?"

Kairi opened her eyes. Selphie was peering over her, her eyes brimming with concern. Kairi shut her eyes and pushed herself up on a sitting position, however thoroughly surprised to find that she was on the ground in the first place. Selphie was at her side in an instant, dusting off the dirt from her shirt and handing her the bag that she'd dropped.

"Are you okay?" she repeated.

Kairi wasn't sure, but she nodded anyway. Selphie didn't look convinced, and was going to ask more when her eyes averted when she spotted something. She gasped. "Kairi, look!" She pointed at the sky, where a meteor was plummeting toward the ocean floor at top speed.

"_Kairi… Kairi… Kairi…I promise…"_

Kairi gasped, placing her hand over her mouth. It just clicked – like a switch going off in her head. She didn't know how… but it was like forgetting something from before one minute and then remembering it without warning the next. She felt her lips form a smile, and she could barely contain her excitement. She jumped on two feet again, startling Selphie.

"He's back, Selphie, he's back!" said Kairi, who couldn't stop smiling. Selphie looked rather confused and perhaps a little concerned for her friend, but by then Kairi was already running ahead, in the direction of the beach.

_Sora… _Kairi grinned. _You're home.

* * *

_

Roxas couldn't see where he was going. It was like going through a dark cave with only your last source of light dying out on you, leaving you totally blind. He still hadn't opened his eyes, but he could feel the world around him move, spin its way and out of control; he was going fast, at top speed, and it seemed like he wasn't going to slow down at any minute.

But he knew if he didn't do something about it soon he would either hurl his entire gut out from the lack of stability or he'd be doomed for the rest of his days as Roxas the Spinning Top. He decided he rather the former, and struck his Keyblade out to the side, hoping there was something solid there that he could hit against so as to stop his constant rotating. Instead, he had opened an entrance – a tiny rift in space. He snuck a peak, and saw – to his relief – a glimmer of light. He moved his Keyblade up further, opening the rift even wider. He caught a glimpse of the ocean surface down below just before he was sucked out from the hole and sent falling from the sky at an even greater speed than when he was in the worm hole.

Knowing that if he fell into the ocean with the current speed he was in, he'd rip his entire limb structure from the sheer impact, rendering him defenseless and totally unable to swim ashore. Still sore from his battle with Axel earlier, Roxas managed to summon his Keyblade to his hand again, although thoroughly aware that he was very close to blacking out now, and cast a fiery shield around him just seconds before hitting the water.

When he opened his eyes, he was on shore – or rather he was being dragged by a pair of arms to dry land. He couldn't really tell of their appearances, but he could scarcely make out a head with brownish-gold spikes and another with red-orangey hair; they were both looking at him with similar faces of concern.

Then, at last, one of them spoke, "Do you think he'll be alright, yah?"

"I'm not sure," said the other with a worried tone. "I mean… if I fell out of the sky at 100 miles per hour I'd think I'd be dead, but this guy… Hey, I think he's coming to!" He brightened the moment Roxas turned his head with an audible groan.

The first one peered closer at Roxas. "You alright, dude?" he said as slowly as possible.

Roxas was fading half in and out; he fought for consciousness the best to his ability but even for someone who wielded something as mighty as a Keyblade couldn't struggle against the natural demands of the mind. The best way to stay conscious, he thought, was to stay active. The logic seemed to make sense, at least to himself. He dug his elbows into the sand and heaved himself to sit up; needless to say that move alone took more out of him than casting that shield spell on himself – he was out of breath and sweating profusely. Ignoring his body's demands to stay where he was, he mustered up the remains of his energy and slowly helped himself to stand.

"Whoa, dude, I don't think you should get up," said the golden-haired individual, whom Roxas from now on decided to label him Spikes – only because he was a little preoccupied staying awake to ask.

"Yah, you should lie down," said the other – Orange.

Roxas disregarded their advice completely, taking a step forward to walk, however nearly fell when his legs began to jiggle. Orange caught him quickly by the arms.

"Okay, you seriously have to chill," said Spikes with more conviction. "I'm going to get help. Wakka," he addressed Orange – err the boy with orange-red locks, "stay with him; make sure he stays put until I can find someone."

Orange – Wakka – nodded. Roxas scowled and pushed Wakka away from him, but even that was enough to unsettle his balance. He teetered in his spot for a minute before properly regaining stability.

"Look," he said, a little impatiently, "I don't need help. I'm perfectly fine. See? I'm standing." He demonstrated a little walk to show them his proof. "So, while it is _most_ appreciated it really isn't necessary. I can handle myself fine."

Spikes frowned. "You don't look fine to me," he said.

Roxas's scowl deepened. "I just… told you, I'm fine…" he said raggedly, his voice slurring. "What… part of…'I'm fine' don't you understand?"

"The part where you start claming you're fine when it's so obvious that you're not!" said Spikes accusingly. "I mean listen to yourself, dude, you're clearly not in the right state of mind to be walking around!"

Roxas huffed; he was not even going to dignify that statement with a reply. He turned his back on them without another word, and started limping his way down the beach. '_Not in the right state of mind…'_ _The hell… I'm perfectly fine… they're the one's who need to lie down! _

Then, with absolutely no warning, Roxas was knocked down; he was dimly aware of himself falling face flat onto the beach floor and Wakka and Spikes coming to stand over him.

"Uh, Tidus… are you sure it was necessary to hit him?" said Wakka, bending down to inspect Roxas in the eye. "I think you hit him a little too hard, no?"

"Nah," said Spikes -- Tidus, shaking his blonde head. "And anyway it's for his own good. The idiot wouldn't take 'you're not fine' for an answer. Now," he said, looking around. "You stay here while I go get help."

"Okay," said Wakka. But before either of them could do anything, someone shouted at them.

"Tidus, Wakka! Stop! What are you doing! Don't hurt him!"

"We didn't do anything to hurt him," said Tidus, sounding affronted. "Wakka and I saved him from drowning. We tried to make him stay put while we get him some help, but he wouldn't listen."

"So, knocking him out was the best solution?" The person sounded incredulous, almost angry even. "He's already looking worst for wear and you want to give him a concussion!"

Wakka stood up abruptly to calm the other person down. "Tidus only wanted to get help. We weren't aiming to hurt him, Kai—"

"Oh, alright then," said the other. "Tidus, please go get some help."

"That's what I've been trying to do in the first place," he said with a heavy sigh. "Alright; be right back."

The other person addressed Wakka now. "Wakka, please help me move him on his back." Roxas felt two pairs of arms – one that was obviously much stronger and had a firmer grip than the other, while the second was gentle, warm and not someone he knew had ever been in battle before – pull him over until he was lying flat on his back.

"Do… you think he'll be alright, yah?" asked Wakka the other uncertainly.

The other didn't reply right away; instead they moved a little closer until Roxas could distinctly make out a face. His vision was unfocused, and maybe a slight bit shaky, but Roxas could still tell the details of a woman when he saw one. She had blue, blue eyes, worried, and unable to take her eyes off him; her hair was red and hung suspended over her pale, cream face.

And…for some reason, just looking at her, made Roxas feel like he knew her; like he'd met her once before in his life. He didn't know why or how that was even possible considering he'd hardly met her before, but every time he gazed up at those blue eyes of hers he'd suddenly feel complete, like all his worries and doubts leave him without a single thought. Maybe he was hallucinating – he HAD drunk enough sea water to make his tongue go dry permanently, and he HAD been knocked down twice in the same hour.

So maybe, possibly, this was his body's way of responding to the harsh beatings he'd taken. But that didn't explain why he still felt like he knew her, felt like he wanted to spend the rest of his life by her side. That didn't explain how he ended up grabbing her hand and pulling her until she was practically laying half on top of him. That didn't explain why he suddenly opened his mouth and spoke out the first word that popped into mind.

"Kai…ri…"

The girl's eyes went wide as coins, and the hold he had on her hand grew exceptionally tighter as she added her own strength into their grip. Roxas felt her other hand touch the side of his face gently; the sensation was so comforting, so familiar, that it fueled Roxas to keep from falling unconscious, although highly aware he was fighting a losing battle.

"Kairi, Wakka, I got some help!" said Tidus's voice from the distance.

"Alright man, you better hurry – he ain't looking so good!" called Wakka to him. Kairi, on the other hand, didn't break eye contact with him, nor did she let go of his hand for that matter.

Roxas cursed; he was fading… and just when he found every reason he needed to stay awake, to be alive… to keep on fighting. He saw Kairi's blue eyes and smiled, thinking to himself: _I'll come back to you, I promise._

"_Sora…"_

It was the last he heard before he finally let darkness take him.

* * *

_He was at a beach, however it was not your typical beach with gold sand, blue sky and an ocean as vast as the eye can see; everything was dark – the sand, the water, the rocks, even the moon's gleam had an eerie, darkly glow to it. _

_Up ahead, he spotted someone sitting on one of the rocks, disguised in a black trench coat; they had their hood up over their head, so he could not see their face. They were staring out at the ocean waves as it crashed onto shore and then drew back again to the ocean. It was only when he approached, did the other finally speak. _

"_I have been to see him," said the other, who sounded clearly like a man. He turned to look at him. "He looks a lot like you."_

_Who did? He wondered. And who was this man and what was he talking about? _

"_Who are you?" he asked. _

"_I'm what's left… or maybe… I'm all that there ever was," was the vague reply. It seemed to confuse him even more rather than enlighten him. _

"_I meant your name," he said. _

"_My name is of no importance. What about you?" asked the man, who looked at him again. "Do you remember your true name?" _

_He looked down. "My true name…is…" he said slowly. He scrambled through his mind to remember, but he only drew a blank. _

"_You don't remember, do you?" asked the other. When he didn't reply, the man said, "It's alright. You are not the only one who wishes to remember. Even I do not recall my true identity. Until the time comes, I have given myself the name… Xemnas."_

"_Xemnas?" he said, rolling the name on his tongue. He looked at the man. "Why can't I remember my name?" _

"_Because…you are part of those who are incomplete; who are striving to exist and be whole again. We… are the Non-existent Ones…Nobodies; those born without hearts and wander the earth with no memory. That is who we are." _

_He shook his head. "This can't be… so…you're saying… I…I don't exist? I have no say on this…none whatsoever?" He felt his hand curl up into a fist, pulsing and shaking as he struggled to control his inner turmoil. "That's not fair!" He was suddenly angry, vengeful and full of undeniable hate for those who were against them. "We should have the right to be like anybody else! HOW DARE THEY DECIDE THAT FOR US!" Without even pausing to think, he summoned his weapon to his hand and swung it in the air like a boomerang so it severed a couple large boulders and a palm tree before zeroing back into his outstretched hand. He was short of breath, but his fury at this injustice fueled him with more strength… more will to conquer and completely destroy._

_Xemnas, however, looked intrigued by the weapon and the whole spectacle of its power. "A key…blade…" he stated slowly. He looked like he could have smiled, but he didn't. Instead Xemnas placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "It's alright, brother…" he said to him. "Join me on my search for completion… Together we will show the world who we really are."_

_He nodded with out a moment's hesitation; his anger was still flowing in his veins, wanting nothing more than to strike his Keyblade harshly against those rocks again. All he could think about, no, all he could care about right now was revenge. _

"_Now, I ask you again," said Xemnas," what is your name?" _

_He looked down and at the Keyblade in hand. "Roxas…" he said, his voice barely audible. Then, with more conviction, he said, looking at Xemnas, "It's Roxas. My name is Roxas."_

_Xemnas's lips formed a smirk. "Well… Roxas…it's a pleasure." _

Roxas jerked from his dream like it had just electrified him, but he was quick to learn that he'd regret his sudden impulse to shoot out of bed like a rocket. _BAM!_ He felt his head come into contact with something hard; he fell back down on his back, clutching his head and groaning. His headache was back, alright, and with a vengeance. He wished someone would come and knock him out again; anything was better…

His desire to remain unconscious soon faded and he was springing upright again, nearly knocking himself in the head again with… a headboard? Hold the phone… Roxas glanced around himself, at the unfamiliar setting, and like a click – everything had come back to him at once. He'd fought Axel, escaped the city with the aid of this mystery person, wounded up on the beach, got knocked down by – what's-their-faces – Orange and Spikes and was saved by…a beauty in red.

Roxas clutched his swollen forehead, realizing that whatever he'd thought just now made absolutely no sense. Mystery person? Orange and Spikes? Beauty in red? Man, he must've hit his head harder than he first realized. But it did explain why he was in this foreign world. If not, then it was safe to say he was going insane. Just where the hell was he? He thought, looking around once more.

He was in a pink room with faded yellow curtains that had tiny golden starts clinging against the fabric; articles of clothing could be seen neatly folded and arranged on the chair opposite to his bed and there was an assortment of dolls all lined up on another shelf just above a small wooden table that included even more items in pink. It looked like a place fit for a child, he thought… or better yet… a place fit for a GIRL. And this bed, he glanced down at what he'd been sitting on, this bed was obviously too small for someone like him to be sleeping on; his legs were already half-stretched out over the edge.

He pulled off the blankets (which were also in pink), ready to jump off the bed, when he spotted what he was wearing; he immediately placed the blanket back on. What the hell was he wearing? He wondered, feeling a slight hysteria coming onto him.

_First I find myself in a girl's room and now this! _He snuck a peak at what he was wearing; a grey t-shirt and black shorts that looked several sizes too big for him. _Where the hell is my coat? And… where the hell is all my stuff!_

Before he could even think of going off on a rampage, he heard the door being pushed open and a small clang. Roxas looked over. A girl with auburn hair and blue eyes was standing at the doorway with a tray in hand. She looked startled when she saw him looking at her.

"Oh, you're awake," she said, coming toward him. She was wearing a white collared shirt with a blue and white striped tie, along with a skirt to match and a pair of dark blue socks that went all the way up her knees. She took a seat on the bed, placed the tray on her lap and then suddenly leaned forward to touch him.

Roxas pulled away almost immediately, looking both nervous and alarmed. "What are you doing?" he demanded.

The girl frowned as though it was obvious. "I want to make sure you're okay," she said. "The doctor said you were sustaining minor injuries, however they could easily become something critical if you don't check on it hourly. You took a big hit on your head, you know?" she said, looking a fearful of the memory. "And you were suffering from four broken ribs and ripped muscle tissue that could've permanently sabotage your entire right arm."

"Well, I'm fine now," said Roxas, trying to stand up before she could even think of touching him again. The pain was instantaneous, stopping him mid-way like a predator striking its unaware prey; it shot up his whole upper torso in a rush – he had to bite his tongue from screaming out in agony. The girl was at his side in an instant, hands coming up his chest to push him back down.

"I told you if you move too soon your injuries could rip open again! Don't you ever listen?" She sighed like she was talking to a three year old. Roxas wanted to glare at her for thinking him as a child, but couldn't. "I think its best if you stay in bed for another day... just until I get back from school."

_It's not like I have a choice,_ thought Roxas, annoyed.

"Here, this ointment will soothe down the pain," said the girl, who'd picked up a small bottle from the tray filled with a green liquid-y substance inside. She dipped some of it onto her hand and then turned to face him expectantly. Roxas didn't like the way she was looking at him at all, and gave her a cold look that evidently said 'what?' The girl sighed again and gave him a look of her own. "You're going to have to let me do this if you want the pain to go away, you know?"

Yes, Roxas was aware of that, which was exactly why he was so dead set against the idea in the first place. But he supposed anything was better than this flesh-ripping pain he was undergoing, and eventually relented. With the girl's aid, he pulled the shirt up over his head; immediately he felt exposed, strangely naked to her calculating eye. The girl was staring hard at him, probably because she'd seen the many scars he had, however did not say a thing and began gently applying the ointment on his chest and on his arms. Meanwhile, the blazed look she had on never wavered; most in particular when she came across a very gory looking scar; she took an extra few minutes applying medicine there, as if she thought she could erase them if she put enough of it on.

And then… there it was again… that feeling like he knew her. He was aware now that it was she who'd saved him earlier at the beach, who'd held his hand as he fought for consciousness.

"There," she said quietly, "I'm done." Like magic the pain had uplifted, just like she said; Roxas felt his muscles which had been clenching with pain suddenly relax. The girl handed him his shirt back, which Roxas couldn't believe he was glad to be getting back. He took the shirt from her and as carefully as he could, pulled it over his head, thoroughly relieved that he had something to cover himself with. As soon as he was done, however, he was surprised to find the girl staring straight at him; she jumped the moment she realized she'd been caught and quickly averted her gaze elsewhere.

Roxas pretended not to have seen this, and said, "So… where am I?" he asked casually.

It was the girl's turn to look surprise. "You mean… you don't remember?" she said.

"I wouldn't have asked if I did," said Roxas, rolling his eyes.

The girl didn't reply for a few minutes, and seemed to take the time to look at Roxas like she could not believe it. When she spoke, her voice was nearly impossible to hear, "But… this is your home. How could you not remember?"

Roxas gave her a funny look. "I have never been here before," he said slowly. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."

"But that can't be!" The girl was shaking her head furiously. "That's impossible. Don't you remember Destiny Island? Tidus, Wakka, Selphie? Anything?" She was growing increasingly frustrated by the constant blank look on his face. "I know you're him!" she cried, pointing at him. "You're Sora!"

Silence followed as the both of them stared at one another; the girl out of breath from her sudden outburst, and Roxas, looking stunned. Then, the silence was broken as Roxas burst out laughing. He laughed and laughed and laughed some more, unable to stop. He knew he must have sounded mental, but the idea that HE was Sora was down right laughable. So this is where the mystery person had sent him… It was ironic yet strangely comical. What better way to find Sora than to be sent to a place where the boy was really well known? It also explained why she kept giving him these funny, far-away glances every time she thought he wasn't looking. It was evident she thought he was Sora.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest, looking annoyed. "What's so funny?" she said.

"I'm sorry, lady, but I am not Sora," said Roxas, after finally composing himself.

The girl glared at him. "You have to be him," she said. "Otherwise, you wouldn't have THIS stashed inside your coat pocket." She showed him the keychain that once hung onto the end of his Oathkeeper.

Roxas felt his smile disappear at the instant that he saw it; he snatched the keychain from her grasp and stuffed it back into his pocket. "Who told you that you can touch my things anyway?" he said coldly. "I may be grateful that you took me in and nursed me back to health, but that didn't mean I gave you permission to fiddle through my possessions!"

The girl's mouth fell in shock, but she was quick to snap out of it and fire back at him, "For your information I DIDN'T fiddle through your stuff! I just happened to find it there when I was hanging your clothes in the wash. Besides," she said, beginning to look angry, "it's not even yours; it's mine. I gave it to you when—"she stopped immediately when she realized what she was about to say; she abruptly clamped her mouth back shut and folded her arms over her chest, staring out the window. "You're not him," she said with more assurance this time, "You can't be him. There's no way Sora would ever – or _could_ ever act like such a jerk."

Roxas scowled at the indicating comment.

"But that still doesn't explain why _you_ have my lucky charm," she went on, looking at him again with a fierce stare. "Or how you knew my name is Kairi _if_ you say you aren't him."

Roxas wanted to yell, _"It's not like I know how I knew either! It just came to me at the time. _But he knew if he said that out loud it would not only earn him another bewildered, disbelieving stare, it would only give Kairi another reason not to trust him.

"Besides," said Kairi, who'd let her shoulders sag in defeat, "you have the same eyes as him." She looked directly into his blue eyes again.

Roxas didn't say a thing, not that he could anyway; Kairi's stare seemed to have compelled him from moving and using his vocal cords. Then she jumped at the sound of the bedroom clock. They both looked up it; it was almost eight. She sighed.

"I'm sorry about my behavior earlier," she said finally. "I thought you were someone else, but I guess… that was just wishful thinking on my part." She gave him a bright smile. "I'm Kairi, by the way," she extended her hand at him. "It's nice to meet you. What's your name?"

Roxas stared at her, bemused – one minute she was accusing him of being someone else, and the next she was acting like nothing had happened. Really, he thought as he took her hand, girls were strange.

"My name is Sor—"he bit his lip. Kairi looked at him intently. "Roxas… it's Roxas." She shook his hand firmly.

"Nice to meet you… Roxas," said Kairi, who had that distant look on her face again. Roxas nodded, silently cursing himself as to why he'd almost let that slip. It was all her fault, Roxas rationalized. She was planting the idea into his head; he couldn't have honestly thought he WAS Sora, could he? He inwardly yelled with frustration. _I'm not Sora, I'm not Sora; I'm Roxas, not Sora!_ He repeated the mantra several times over inside his head to convince himself that this was the truth.

"Anyway," said Kairi as she began walking out of the room. "There's food on the tray incase your hungry. Bathroom's next door and – this is a definite MUST – apply the ointment every three hours, otherwise the pain will just come back. I'll be back at four," she added over her shoulder. "So get plenty of rest. See you later!"

And with that she was gone, running down the stairs and out the door. Roxas felt his head hurt from the piling information she'd just given him. He'd just fallen from the sky for Pete's sake, and she was expecting him to remember all that? Sheesh. Women were so over demanding.

Roxas saw her from the window. She was running down the path, but not before giving one last look up at the window where he was in. She shook her head once and then ran the rest of the way until she was out of sight.

The girl was odd, and yet Roxas couldn't let go of that feeling like he'd known her from somewhere before. However, he wished she wouldn't look at him like that, like she was daydreaming and thinking he was actually Sora. Well, he DID feel slightly comfortable around her. Did that mean anything? He wondered.

He scowled. Of course it didn't, what the hell was he talking about? He wasn't Sora, and that was that. And to further occupy his mind from whatever illogicalness was still left out there he reached over to the tray and grabbed the nearest bowl.

* * *

"Kairi!" Kairi turned her head and saw Selphie already standing by the school gate, waiting for her. "You just ran off yesterday!" she said as they began walking. "Are you alright? I didn't get a chance to call last night." 

Kairi nodded. "I'm fine."

"Tidus and Wakka told me what happened," said Selphie, who was watching her carefully now as they made their way into the building. "They said it looked as though you two knew each other or something. Is that true?"

_I thought I knew who he was too…_ thought Kairi sadly, remembering their little spat. She felt Selphie place a hand on her shoulder gently.

"Kairi, are you sure you're okay? You look a little tired."

Kairi shook her head and smiled. "I'm alright, Selphie, really."

Selphie nodded slowly. "So… who is he?" she asked quietly. "Do you know?"

"No," she said, after a long while. She blew out a breath and tried to forget all about Sora, about the stranger in her house and about those piercing blue eyes they both shared in common. "I don't."

* * *

A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! It's really appreciated. Just a note; I have exams coming up next week so the next update could take a while. I still hoped you enjoyed. Anyway, till then! 

Review please!


	3. Faint Whispers

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

**Haven of Memories **

**Chapter Three: Faint Whispers**

Roxas yawned. He was bored out of his mind and it'd only been a few hours since Kairi had left him. There wasn't much one could do when they were on bed rest, and for someone like Roxas he was easy to grow restless. He'd eaten whatever was on the tray, which wasn't much, in Roxas's opinion; a bowl of soup, a couple bread slices, some cut up apples and a cup of herbal tea.

He would've scouted the kitchen for more to eat – or better yet his clothes and his belongings, but he recalled Kairi's words to stay in bed and the instance of pain he felt when he disobeyed her; Roxas had never cursed for so long before when he realized this thought. And so, against his will, he was left to stay in bed for the remainder of the day until Kairi got back. The idea horrified him as well as irritated him; not only would he be blinded for the rest of his life by the unmistakable pinkness of the room but he would surely die a terrible death from boredom.

Roxas scowled for what felt like the millionth time that hour. He felt fine! Sure… maybe hours before he had felt exhausted and a little sore around the edges, but he was okay now. He'd only just realized that he hadn't taken that ointment Kairi had strictly advised him to take every three hours, otherwise, as she'd said, the pain would only return. It was already noon, and he still had yet to feel any agony. He had to be better. He'd felt stronger than ever that was for sure.

He sat up and wiggled his arm – the one he'd almost lost from falling from the sky – to inspect the damage. He expected to be surprised, to feel the surge of pain course up his entire right arm without warning; however, to his utter relief he felt nothing. He moved his fingers, swayed his wrist from side to side and even threw a punch for the heck of it, and still he felt nothing. He moved the rest of his torso, only to find the exact same result; there was no sign of pain, not even a twinge whatsoever.

Roxas stood up, carefully, placing one foot firmly on the floor, soon followed by the other. He took a step forward, and then another, and another and another. Step after step, Roxas felt a sense of accomplishment.

_Screw the ointment crap_, He thought with growing confidence. He stepped outside the room and into the hall. _Now… to find my clothes…_

The house, he grew to realize, wasn't a very big house, and looked just the right size for one or two people to live in. As he looked around the place, he began to wonder if Kairi lived in this house alone. There was something within him that stirred at that prospect…it made him feel like he _should_ stay in this house with her, to keep her company, to make sure that she would never be alone again… but like any rash thoughts they soon vanished from his mind and he was left scowling at what a ridiculous idea that had just occurred to him.

He soon found his way into the kitchen, thinking that the meal Kairi had brought up for him had most definitely not been enough to satisfy his monstrous appetite. He scurried around the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers; feeling almost the need to complain of the lack of edible substances within them.

_Crackers, peanut butter, cookies – what the hell is this? This is NOT what I'd call food!_ He ventured into the kitchen fridge, popped it opened and decided that just about everything would do. He grabbed the milk, a bowl of fruits and a box of leftover pieces of chicken and made his way to the table. Within the hour, he'd finished everything, and was left with the need for more. However, he didn't think Kairi would take it to liking if he'd emptied her entire fridge without permission; if anything, he'd just be giving her a bigger reason to call him a jerk again. And as much as she could claim that he is, he'd definitely prove her wrong and show what a complete and absolute _angel_ he really was.

Roxas left the kitchen and came down another hall, which led to the laundry room. There hanging on a line were his clothes; he rejoiced immediately at the sight of them. He touched his jacket and his pants to see if they were dry… they weren't. Roxas cursed; he was hoping to leave today too. He ran his hand through his spiky blonde hair, sighing heavily, trying to think.

_I guess I could go explore the island while my clothes continue to dry_, He thought after a while. He found the front door, where his boots were. His boots were dry, surprisingly, and he quickly slipped then on before leaving.

Kairi… he thought as he walked away from the front steps… she was going to kill him if she found out he was even out here. Roxas's lips quirked into a mischievous smile – _IF_ she finds out, he thought sneakily. He'd be back before then – when did her school end anyway? Four did she say? Well, he'd be back before she even realized he was missing. With that logic in mind, he continued the rest of his walk down the path.

The island, he thought after an hour, was bigger than he anticipated. The little houses were numerous and counting; he couldn't, for the life of him, understand how something that was surrounded by water could capacitate so many people and their homes. It was also very hot – he could feel sweat trickle down his neck every ten minutes he continued his walking – and was quite glad that he didn't come rushing out of the house with his coat on; the heat alone would be enough to kill him. There was no way, not in a thousand years, would he be able to stay on this island and expect to enjoy it. With that small walk alone, he also concluded that this island was a prison just waiting to happen – it would be enough to drive any man to want to leave this place. And while yes, it was incredibly beautiful with its surrounding blue ocean, vast open skies and constant warm and sunny weather he'd not be able to stay on this island forever.

He just couldn't… not with the kind of life he led.

The idea, without warning or reason, made him feel… sad. Roxas shook his head instantly at the thought. He was a Nobody… there was no possible way he could ever feel anything acute to humanly feelings such as sorrow. Roxas continued to tell himself that even has the 'sadness' magnified; he had to find Sora. That was his main focus. He could not be deterred from his path by something as trivial as this simple island. And anyway… he'd never been here before so how was it feasible that he could feet so… fond of this place, especially when he'd already concluded that he could not, or would not, ever stay?

His unconfident thoughts soon led him to the beach, which Roxas assumed was the very beach in which Spikes, Orange and Kairi had saved him yesterday.

"Hey you," called a familiar voice, "aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Roxas turned around and saw that it was the golden-haired kid from the other day… the one who'd knocked me down, he thought, scowling at the distant memory. It was vague, but Roxas remembered it. As the other boy came nearer, Roxas eyed him with an almost wintry glare.

"Aren't _you_ supposed to be in school?" Roxas retorted, indicating at his uniform; the tie was loose and the collared shirt was already half unbutton; the ends of his dress pants were wet and sprinkled with sand and he was barefooted. He was carrying a bag, which was half-opened and the contents looked ready to spill out.

"Wakka and I have a free period at this time," said the golden haired boy with a shrug.

When the boy said 'Wakka', Roxas assumed he was referring to the other boy that had saved him, but looking around he was no where to be found.

As if reading his thoughts, the golden-haired boy said, "He went to get our ball – we're going to have a quick game of Blitz."

"Blitz," said Roxas, looking at the other boy for an explanation.

"Yeah, you know? That famous sport you see on television?" Roxas gave him a blank look. "It's kind of like hockey and soccer all in one only you play it under water?" More blank looks. The boy sighed. "Forget it."

Roxas shrugged and then threw back on the sand, staring at the sky.

"I don't know if you know this but – "The golden haired boy extended a hand to him. "—I'm Tidus by the way!"

Roxas stared at the hand for a split second before briefly shaking it. "Roxas," he replied wearily.

"Roxas," said Tidus slowly. "That's a strange name."

"Not as strange as 'Tidus'," said Roxas, slightly defiant. He'd always been a bit touchy about his name… almost because he never really knew his real name to begin with. But he wasn't going to let Tidus know about that. "But… I appreciated you saving me," he added lamely later, thinking it'd be cold-hearted of him to hate Tidus before he'd got the chance to thank him.

Tidus smiled. "Oh, so you remembered?" he asked. He looked slightly guilty. "I was hoping you'd not remember… Sorry man."

"I've been hit harder," said Roxas, thinking of Axel when he said this.

"Yo, Tidus, I got the ball!" It was Wakka; he was running towards them, waving with one hand and holding the ball with the other.

Tidus cheered. "Alright, man! Let's play!"

As Wakka approached them, his eyes momentarily flickered towards Roxas and then Tidus, who shrugged. Wakka extended his hand also with a grin.

"I'm Wa—"

"Wakka," said Roxas, annoyed that people were just shoving hands into his face like that, "I know."

"This here is Roxas," said Tidus.

"Roxas," Wakka repeated slowly. "That's a—"

"Strange name," Roxas finished, scowling outwardly now, "—I've been told." He shot Tidus a glare, which wasn't noticed.

"Okay," said Tidus, "now that we've all been introduced, how about a game of Blitz?" He looked at Roxas. "You in?"

Roxas stared at the ball in his hands wearily. "No thanks," he said flatly.

"But it is fun, yah!" said Wakka persistently.

"I don't do 'fun'," said Roxas, who rolled his eyes. "No thanks."

Wakka looked disappointed, but Tidus was watching Roxas carefully. Then he said – in a voice too loud for Roxas to consider legal, "Oh, that's okay, Wakka, we can just play ourselves! Roxas here doesn't KNOW how to play anyway, so it would make sense that he'd be _intimidated _by experienced professionals such as ourselves!"

Roxas gritted his teeth at the comment, feeling his neck suddenly heat up, but he was sure that the cause was not by the sun.

"If you're chicken, Roxas, just say so!" chirped Tidus, even louder if that was possible. "We won't laugh… too hard!" Then he and Wakka proceeded to do just that… laugh – at Roxas – with an enthusiasm that irked Roxas to no end. They even had the nerve to point at him.

Without another minute, Roxas had bolted from his spot. He was practically seething now.

"Let's…play…" he hissed, hoping the venom in his voice was evident enough to be heard.

Apparently not.

Wakka and Tidus both grinned with success and 'high-fived' one another, which only seemed to grate Roxas's nerves even further.

They made a circle, as Tidus carefully explained Roxas the concept of the game. They did a few rounds here or there just for test start; Roxas did well for someone who'd just learned ten-fifteen minutes ago, and was soon playing as aggressive and as skilled as both Tidus and Wakka were playing. Every time he did a move Wakka or Tidus could only have done, they'd looked at him with disbelief and shock on their faces that many times they'd almost taken the ball to the face, however, they'd soon grinned afterward and resumed play.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Tidus demanded, still startled at how anyone could learn something he'd probably learned for years in a matter of seconds. "That was amazing play!"

Roxas shrugged, wiping the sweat off his brow. He'd only observed was all. "I'm a fast learner," was his only reply.

"We could use someone like you on our team!" said Wakka vigorously. "With your skills we'd have a better chance at going to finals."

"Finals are when you compete with other schools to see which one is the best," said Tidus when he noticed Roxas's confused stare. "We'd never made it before because our team isn't the best…yet," he emphasized the last word and gave Roxas a pointed stare. "There are a lot of harder teams out there, some who are even better than us. But if we won this year we can get off this island and travel to other islands in the national finals!"

"And to think!" said Wakka. "You'd just fallen out of the sky yesterday and could barely even walk! That's amazing, yah!"

Roxas shrugged again. He'd hated it when people shove praises at him; it was almost as bad as the handshakes he'd gotten shoved under his nose earlier.

"You know," said Tidus, quirking his head to the side, "you remind me of someone. Don't you think so, Wakka?"

Wakka looked at him too and then frowned. "Yah… you do look sorta familiar…"

Roxas raised a brow. That was sudden.

Tidus laughed and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, forget about that," he said. "It's just… for a minute there we thought you looked… well, you _do_ look an awful lot like—"

"Like Sora?" said Roxas.

Both boys stared at him, blinking. It wasn't totally surprising – the question was magnetic to these island folks; everyone he had met so far couldn't seem to hold in their urge to ask him if he was Sora. Some of the even bolder ones, like Kairi, he thought with an almost bitter sneer, hadn't bothered to make their curiosity into an inquiry but rather had turned it into a statement, which they didn't hesitate to throw at his face.

"Yeah," said Tidus, nodding, but was looking at Roxas with an expression akin to discretion. "Like Sora…"

"You know him or something?" asked Wakka, voicing Tidus's question.

Roxas shrugged. "I heard _of_ him; I haven't really met the guy if that's what you mean," he said. At their confused gazes, Roxas sighed, "Kairi said something about Sora to me too." He wanted to add: _And I'm getting really fed up with people thinking I'm Sora because I'm NOT!_ But he held his tongue.

"He's been away for three years," said Tidus and he turned his head towards the ocean. "It's kind of funny… when you fell out of the sky yesterday… it was like I suddenly thought about him – just like that. As though I'd forgotten about him… like he'd never existed to me until now… I remembered he used to live and play here with us…all the time…" Then he laughed, shaking his head at how ridiculous it must have sounded. "I must sound like an awful friend, huh?"

Roxas didn't know what to say, but he opted to saying something neutral like 'Um… no of course not' or 'It's okay…it's not like I have a very sharp memory either'

It was then Wakka spoke up quietly, "I'd remembered him too…" Both Tidus and Roxas turned their eyes to him. "Just yesterday… when Roxas fell out of the sky…I remembered Sora too…" he looked at Roxas directly.

Roxas wished desperately that he didn't; it was bad enough that these two were reminiscing about their dear old friend – who he'd happened to be searching for – right in front of him, but to look at him like he had something to do with it?

"A-Anyway," said Tidus quickly. "Enough about that. It's obviously you're not Sora, even if you _do_ look like him – well, you do!" he said defensively when Roxas glowered at him. "I mean… Sora is too happy, and you, well… you're too grumpy all the time."

Roxas bristled. "I am not _grumpy_," he said firmly. "Well, I'm not!" he insisted when they continued to look at him with disbelief.

"Okay," said Wakka, laughing. Roxas sent him a withering glare, but Wakka continued to laugh even harder and had whapped him on the shoulder when he looked close to falling over. "Ah, lighten up a little yah? It's not good for your face – you'll get lines were your brows are."

"Thanks for the advice," said Roxas coolly.

"Let's have a duel!" cut in Tidus, taking out a wooden sword from his bag. Wakka had one also. Roxas gave them a look that clearly said 'You run around with wooden swords?' He was quite tempted to show them what a _real _sword should look like but thought better of it. Tidus promptly ignored his hilarity and threw him another sword. "Laugh all you want… you're probably just scared."

This comment made Roxas want to laugh; he'd seen far scarier things that would scare any self-proclaimed brave man shitless. He didn't think the end of a wooden sword would make him wet his pants just yet. Nonetheless, Roxas brandished the sword expertly, deciding he was going to humor the two.

"Show us what you've got!" Tidus yelled as he took on a battle stance.

Roxas smirked before charging full speed.

* * *

"Kairi, hey, Kairi, slow down, will you?" Selphie complained, running after her.

But Kairi couldn't slow down, not with that feeling at the back of her mind that something awful had happened. An image of Roxas laughing like a madman as he watched her house burned to the ground was smeared like a memory so clear in her mind. Kairi could practically sense the word 'evil' looming in the area every time she thought about that boy. Not only was he rude, insensitive and an arrogant jerk, but he was also very infuriating even when the only opposing thing he'd done to her was deny he was Sora, which, she may add, she was still quite sore about.

_Don't tell me you're still convinced that he's 'him'…? _Asked a voice in her head. _He can't be Sora…they may look alike but they're not the same person! _

"Kairi!" Selphie called again. "Kairi, wait up!" The brunette had grabbed Kairi by the arm to stop her. "Hey, what's with you?"

"Nothing," said Kairi, shaking her head. "But if I don't get back to the house soon that…that… _jerk_ might pull off something sneaky!"

Selphie looked surprised. Obviously she had never heard Kairi speak so…differently about anyone before. "You don't trust him." It was more of a statement than a fact.

"No, I don't," Kairi agreed. "I don't know him. But I do know that he isn't like the rest of us… there's something strange about him…just the way he arrived here yesterday says it all. So I'm going to confront him about it."

Kairi continued to walk down the path with Selphie in toe. When she spotted her house just up the clearing she was momentarily relieved that it was still in one piece, however her short respite soon ended as she bolted up the steps and into her home. Inside seemed to be in tact too, every chair, every table, every rug and every flower vase were exactly where they should be. However, the place seemed quiet… too quiet.

"Kairi?" Selphie looked at her friend worriedly. But Kairi ignored her and went up the stairs to her room.

The pink room was empty, and so was the bed that had hours before consisted of a patient. Kairi's hands shook.

"Kairi?" Selphie repeated her name, this time more urgently. But Kairi wasn't listening; her blue eyes were trained on the bottle next to the tray… the very bottle she had used to soothe Roxas's wounds. It was left, seemingly untouched. "Kairi!"

Kairi shot out from her reverie and began storming down the stairs. "That… that… Argh! Is he crazy? I told him to stay put until I got home! He hasn't fully recovered yet!" Both she and Selphie came down to the kitchen, where plates were piled on top of one another on the sink and an empty box which had once before contained about a dozen chicken pieces was thrown in the trash. Kairi went to the fridge, pulling it opened – just as she'd thought. "First he doesn't put ointment on like he's supposed to, leaves the house without permission, and now he's emptied out half of my entire fridge? That juvenile little… Argh!"

Kairi ran out of the house, with Selphie not too far behind her.

"Hey, Kairi, wait up! Where are we going?" called her friend.

"To find a certain _someone _and make sure his ribs stay broken – permanently!" Kairi called back.

Her search led her to the beach, where she immediately spotted Tidus, Wakka and… Kairi's eyes narrowed. Roxas.

"Hey, is that him?" said Selphie, looking at Roxas with an odd look on her face. "Wow, Kairi, you didn't tell me you had a hottie living in your house!" She gushed out, her cheeks going pink.

Kairi gave her a weary look. "'Hottie' is not the word I'd used to call him, Selph," said Kairi bitterly. "'Jerk' seems more appropriate!"

Selphie rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you don't agree." Kairi ignored her, but there was a distinct shade of red that had come across Kairi's face. Selphie noticed it. "Oh, so you _do_ agree!"

Kairi decided to just ignore her. Her eyes trained dead ahead.

They were dueling; Tidus and Wakka were out of breath, and Roxas – the cocky jerk – was just swinging his wooden sword around with a haughty smile on his face. Kairi would definitely show him. Without waiting another second, Kairi marched up to where the three boys were, had grabbed the sword from Roxas's hand and thumped him --- literally – on the head; not too hard, but hard enough to, hopefully, bring some sense back to the boy.

"Ow!" Roxas pressed where she'd just hit him. He glared at her. "What the hell was that for?" he demanded.

"That," said Kairi, testily, "is for leaving the house when I specifically told you not to!"

Roxas's eyes went wide. "Hey, wait… what time, is it?" he asked, looking around at Tidus and Wakka.

"It's thirty minutes passed four," said Kairi, eyeing him suspiciously. "Why?"

"Ah… I was planning to head back before then…" Roxas shrugged. "I guess I lost track of time…oh well."

"So… what you're saying is," said Kairi in a supposedly sweet tone, "that you, being injured and all, were planning to sneak on out of the house and be back before four so that I," she pointed to herself, "wouldn't have any clue of the terrible deed you'd just did."

Selphie, Tidus and Wakka were all back away slowly, but Roxas simply shrugged again, unaware of the hellfire just waiting to happen. "Yeah… that's about it," he said, nodding.

"Hmm…" said Kairi, smiling serenely. "I see."

WHAM!

"Ow! What the --?" Roxas's hands flew back to the spot she had hit him – again.

"And that," said Kairi smoothly, "was for trying to deceive me, you jerk!"

Roxas looked at her bewildered; moments before she'd been nothing but kind to him, making him breakfast and soothing ointment down his wounds. Never did he picture her to be the violent type, who extracted revenge on innocent and injured men. This girl was something else.

"C'mon," she said, as she started to walk ahead. "Let's go."

Roxas frowned. "You talking to me?" he said, looking around at Tidus, Wakka and the other girl, who were all pretending to be interested in something else.

Kairi rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the collar. "Of course I'm talking to you," she hissed, before proceeding to drag him along.

"Hey, let go! Hey!" Kairi ignored his complaints and continued to pull him with her. Behind him, Roxas could hear Tidus and Wakka chuckling and the other girl clicking her tongue with disappointment.

They'd reached the road again, and it was then that Kairi relinquished her hold on his shirt.

"Hey," said Roxas, after smoothing down the collar. "What the hell was that for?"

"I should ask you the same question!" said Kairi angrily. "I told you to stay put, and what happened to the ointment you were supposed to be taking every three hours – it's already 4:40!"

Roxas huffed. "Well, I think it's obvious," he said. "I don't need it. I heal fast…And besides… I was beginning to get bored with just looking at your lame wallpaper."

Kairi's eyes narrowed slightly, and Roxas thought she might hit him again. Instead she sighed heavily and began walking. "Let's go."

"Where?" Roxas said hesitantly. "Not back to your house. Anymore of that pink shit and I'd cry me a river."

"To town!" Kairi glared at him. "I need to buy some more food, considering you nearly emptied it out, you jerk! And it's not pink," she added, "it's salmon."

Roxas, for the life of him, could not distinguish the difference. But he did feel highly offended that she'd even call him a jerk – for the third time since he'd met her – especially when he'd been considerate enough to NOT completely consume her fridge.

He didn't say anything, however, thinking if he did she'd just hit him and call him a jerk again. He grumbled, stuffed his hands into his pocket and followed her to town.

* * *

Kairi bit her lip; perhaps she'd been too hard on him. It was unnecessary to call him a jerk even though it was highly tempting and quite appropriate at times. He _did _deserve that hit though, she rationed, turning her head to look at him. He was walking a bit slow, but he kept up with her at least. He had his hands shoved in his pockets, his blue eyes staring off in that bored kind of way as they passed the village.

Sometimes just looking at him aggravated her to no end... other times… just looking at him reminded her of Sora, when she used drag him into town with her to go shopping and he'd get that same dull look on his face when he didn't see anything that sparked his interest. But at least Sora enjoyed her company, this guy seemed always reluctant to be in her presence; it made Kairi feel as though she had some sort of disease whenever she was around him.

As if noticing her gaze, Roxas shifted his eyes until they were locked on with hers. A minute seemed to pass by as they looked at each other. He raised a brow questioningly, and perhaps a little challenging too, but Kairi simply grinned, not really know why she was so amused, and turned her head away.

"You're just going to keep doing that aren't you?" he sighed, annoyed.

"Do what?" She turned to him in surprise.

"Stare at me and not say a thing," he said, kicking a rock. He looked at her questioningly. "What's with that?"

As fast as her cheeriness had overcome her, the faster it was to leave her. Roxas… reminded her of Sora that was all and yet she was still so persistent to be around him. She couldn't understand her contrasting thoughts. He was a jerk, was he not? He had lied to her, had he not? Wanted to deceive her? Then how could she still think he was Sora when their personalities were so far apart?

_Maybe I've been missing him too much…_ Kairi thought sadly.

"Oh nothing," she offered lamely.

"You're strange…" he droned wearily.

_Yes… I am, aren't I?_ Kairi smiled a little.

She didn't look at Roxas for the remainder of the walk.

* * *

She was really…strange.

Roxas couldn't pinpoint it, but she was definitely not like other girls. Then again, the only girl he'd ever really known was Larxene and she'd done nothing but poke fun at him. But Kairi…was different; she didn't torture him in the way Larxene did. Kairi didn't have to do anything to get Roxas moving in circles; just looking at her alone made Roxas want to pull his hair out.

She was…_irritating_ to be with and at the same time he felt he couldn't get enough of her. There was just…something about her that made Roxas want to be near her; she brought out… emotions, for lack of a better word, he'd never felt before and it was driving him mad. Where were all these 'emotions' coming from, all these memories? And was he -- or _could _he actually feel them or were they all just some messed up illusion created by this one girl?

When she'd sneak a glance at him she would think he hadn't noticed, but Roxas was aware of everything she was doing; all those calculative stares, all those secretive smiles… In fact she didn't know that it was actually _him_ who was staring at _her_. Every time she'd looked away and continue her walk, Roxas would shift his eyes, whether he wanted to or not and just… watch her.

Roxas scowled.

He… despised this girl to the core – she'd hit him, called him a jerk and was ordering him around like some commanding mistress – but he was more so infuriated at what she was doing to him.

_This was the idea of a safe place?_ He thought bitterly, thinking back to the mysterious person who'd saved him. _I'm going mad here!_

"Well, we're here!" Kairi spoke up.

Roxas nearly bumped into her. Slightly annoyed, he looked over her shoulder where he could see many larger complexes bunched together; people were roaming around the streets, carrying large bundles in their hands. It looked almost like a marketplace only bigger, he noted.

Kairi led them around the path until they were within the town. It was automatic; Roxas immediately despised this place. It was so…stuffy, with people and vendors all alike, occupying available space and pushing and shoving. He hated it.

No to mention people couldn't help but stare at him – no _gawk_ at him like he was some runaway act from the circus or something; children even had the nerve to point at him and whisper to their mothers, who merely tugged on their arms and dragged them away, eyeing him carefully from over their shoulders as they did. Roxas was prompt to ignore them, but every now and then he'd sent a blistering glare over in their direction, feeling a slight vindictive pleasure when they'd jump, startled, and look away quickly.

They came across a small food market, which Kairi didn't hesitate to thrust him a basket.

"What the–?" He looked at the basket in his hands and at Kairi for an explanation. She gave him an annoyed look as though the answer was quite obvious. She was SO not serious was she? The beam in her blue eyes told him that yes; she was, in fact, dead serious.

Before he could even protest however, she'd grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him inside with her.

"You can complain all you want, but you are helping me with this!" she said when he started making grumbling noises of objection. "Now come here while I pick some apples."

Roxas gritted his teeth and did as he was told. Why the hell was he letting her do this to him? Had he no will of his own? He wondered. He'd fought annoying Dusks and Heartless and yet he could not shake off this one girl?

"Roxas, will you go get some bananas please?" said Kairi, while she examined some bread buns.

"And if I refuse?" said Roxas heatedly. Kairi sent him a cut-eye.

Roxas fumed and went in search of bananas, annoyed that he could not go against her no matter how much he argued. Kairi… was pure EVIL. It would certainly explain the crazy things she was doing to him.

"Make sure they're ripe!" Kairi reminded him in a sing-song voice.

Roxas wanted to snap at her, but he supposed that his death glare was enough to suffice. Kairi merely grinned, unfazed. Yes, she was definitely evil, he thought, no doubt about it.

He strolled towards the fruit section with the least amount of enthusiasm. He grabbed a paper bag, briefly examined a few bananas and then thrusting them carelessly into the bag. Kairi watched him with a frown on her face, obviously unimpressed by his poor efforts, however she didn't say anything about it and merely walked away to another part of the market.

Roxas, who was now holding a bag of bananas, didn't know what else to do. He waited for a while until Kairi returned, demanding that he'd do something else, but to his distaste she was taking much longer than he'd anticipated. He grinded his teeth and began incessantly tapping his foot with growing impatience.

Just when he'd had enough of waiting, someone bumped into him or rather – ran into him. Annoyed, Roxas whipped his head around, a nasty remark poised at the tip of his tongue; it was then that he realized that it was a boy. He was bruised from the fall, on his bottom, and rubbing at his arm. Roxas could feel many pairs of eyes turning his way to look.

Roxas's irritation hindered slightly as he bent down beside the boy. "Are you alright?" he asked gently – a tone that sounded strange even to himself. The boy, however, looked up, his brown eyes growing wider by the second as he stared, and Roxas, unable to help himself, gazed back, a brow jotted upward in question.

What was with this kid? Was he honestly going to stare at him like that?

Roxas cleared his throat and held out a hand. "Hey kid, I said are you alright?"

He looked at the back for Kairi. When the hell was she going to come out?

"I-I'm alright," said the boy quickly, disregarding Roxas's outstretched hand and pulling himself up on two feet. He was avoiding looking Roxas in the eye. "S-Sorry…" he muttered. "Gotta go…" With that he took off, leaving Roxas to stare after him, perturbed by the unusual behavior.

"Roxas?" Kairi was at his side at last. But Roxas was too preoccupied staring at the scene where the boy had disappeared to berate her for being so damn slow. Noticing where his eyes were trained to, she followed it, but she couldn't see what was so captivating. She looked back to Roxas, a frown on her face. "What's the matter?"

She touched his arm hesitantly. Roxas jumped a little and looked at her as though he wasn't quite expecting her to be there.

"What's wrong? You seem upset," said Kairi, looking… worried?

"I-It's nothing," he stammered, feeling embarrassed. He then noticed her hand touching his arm and quickly pulled away with a glare. "You're always touching me, why is that?" he snapped.

Kairi went red, but whether it was from her own embarrassment or something else Roxas wasn't sure. She threw him a glare.

"Don't be so full of yourself! You're still a jerk," said Kairi sharply, snatching the bag of bananas from him and stomping off towards the cashier desk.

Roxas watched her go, feeling his annoyance resurface.

"What the hell is with her?" he muttered to himself.

* * *

They were at the beach again.

Kairi hadn't spoken to him during the entire walk back. Roxas didn't mind, at least this way she couldn't order him around anymore. But still… watching her expression as she walked silently next to him… bothered him… more so than what he was willing to admit.

Her face, no matter how many times she'd smile, always looked so incredibly sad…

She was staring out at the ocean; or rather she was staring at the other island across. It made Roxas wonder if she'd done this many times before, watch that island with that same look of sadness on her face.

It was probably an act of impulse or something that stirred up at the moment. Whatever it was it had Roxas standing beside her, their shoulders brushing and their fingers barely an inch away from one another. "It'll be okay… I'm sure he'll come back soon…" he said softly.

There it was again… that gentleness he never knew he'd possessed. He wasn't sure what had come over him or why he suddenly felt the need to comfort her, after all she'd been nothing but nuisance to him the moment he'd met her; calling him a jerk, ordering him around… making him go crazy by always constantly thinking about her. He resisted that part in himself that'd wanted to hold her or take her hand. Kairi seemed surprised too, but she smiled. "Yeah… I know he will…someday," she said knowingly, "Or maybe…he's already here?"

She was looking at him again, he knew. Roxas sighed. "I know what you're thinking," he muttered. "But I'm not him. I am not Sora."

This time Kairi's smile twisted with evident disappointment. "I knew you'd say that," she said. "Somehow… I knew you'd say that." Roxas looked at her, surprised and intrigued by her reaction. He didn't know what else more to say. He wasn't Sora, but then there was that annoying voice at the back of his head _urging_ him to tell Kairi otherwise. "But still… I'd hoped…" she trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't know why I'm telling you this… I don't even know you…You're not him…"

She went to walk away, but Roxas – those damn impulses – had grabbed her arm and pulled her back. They were standing close, with Kairi staring puzzled and stunned at him. It was evident that they both weren't expecting him to do this.

"Tell me…" Roxas whispered.

Kairi was tensed at the closeness, but just looking into his blue eyes seemed to calm her. It was almost like being with Sora again. Unconsciously she leaned in towards his touch.

"I had hoped… that you were…him…" said Kairi softly.

Roxas looked a little distressed by this.

"I'm not Sora," he admitted gently. "But… I do… confess… that I…sometimes think I'm him." At Kairi's confused stare, Roxas growled in frustration. "I know it sounds stupid… but…I know know how else to explain it. I can't even understand it myself… I have dreams… I have dreams about Sora… and every time I wake up I always think I'm him." He sighed. "It doesn't make any sense, huh?"

Kairi's surprise was apparent; but she couldn't help but giggle. "No, it doesn't," she agreed. Roxas groaned, causing Kairi to giggle again. Then she noticed that his hand was still holding her. She couldn't help a teasing smile from emerging. "Who's touching who now, hmm?"

Face red, Roxas released her and took several steps away, to ensure that there was a sufficient and appropriate amount of distance between them. Kairi laughed, but her laughter eventually died when she gazed longingly at the other island.

Roxas watched her, fascinated as the falling sun made her red hair glow. Then he shook his head and looked else where.

"I admit…" he heard her say. "I couldn't remember Sora from before either… I knew that he was someone important… someone I cared for deeply. But then that meteor came down and you showed up, it was like magic – like a switch going off in my head, I finally could remember his name, his face, his touch… his voice… everything. It was like he'd never left."

Roxas sighed heavily, glaring at his shoes. "What really makes you think I'm him?" he muttered.

"Because I can feel it," said Kairi adamantly. She placed a hand over where her heart was beating. "I can feel it here…"

Roxas stuffed his hands into his pockets. "You can't feel my heart…" he said. "My heart's gone… all I am is an empty shell…a No—"Kairi was at his side in an instant, leaning so close to him that he could practically taste her scent. They were standing next to each other like they had the last time. However, Roxas was too entranced with just looking at her to point it out.

"You do have a heart," she said, placing a hand over his chest. Roxas couldn't feel anything coinciding there, but the fierce look on Kairi's face told him that she sure did. Roxas raised a hand, doubts clouding his mind, and covered her hand with his.

"_You do have a heart…"_ She had said.

Roxas closed his eyes, trying to listen. He expected to hear nothing, but to his surprise he had heard a thump, and then another and another and another – an evident sound of something within him beating with life. When he reopened his eyes, he was gazing at Kairi in disbelief. How was this possible?

Kairi smiled knowingly. "See?" she said. Then she pulled her hand away and walked back to the shore, leaving Roxas to stare at himself, bewildered. Had that really been… his heart?

Kairi was taking out something from her bag now, a bottle with a rolled up piece of parchment inside. She placed the bottle into the water and watched it as it was carried out to the ocean.

"What's that?" Roxas asked.

"A letter…" said Kairi. "I wrote it yesterday… to the boy I can't remember. I told him… that no matter what happens I'll find him. Someday. And when I stopped writing… I remembered we made a promise, something important. This letter is where it starts I know it."

He scoffed, the idea was totally ridiculous.

"What makes you think he'll even get it? He could be millions of miles away from here," he said skeptically.

"He will," said Kairi with conviction.

Roxas shook his head, still doubtful, but then again she made him feel as though he actually had a heart… when all this time he'd been unconvinced about that too. He couldn't explain it any more than he could explain his strange dreams.

They both watched as the bottle drifted farther and farther away from them.

* * *

So… he was here after all.

A smile in the darkness.

"Roxas… I've found you…"

* * *

A/N: Well, finally an update! Sorry it took so long!

If you had questions about something that's been confusing you, please email me or whatever and I'll do my best to answer them. However, the questions you may want to ask me could be answered in future chapters. Although I am always happy to help!

Read and Review please!


	4. The Voice that Calls

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

* * *

**Haven of Memories**

**Chapter Four: The Voice that Calls**

Where was he?

It would be convenient to say that he was in the middle of no where, but of course, that didn't make sense. He was somewhere. It was all just a matter of _where_ that somewhere was. Strangely enough he felt as though he'd been here before. This feeling, that sensation of familiarity, was beginning to sound like a habit, or a broken record.

He was standing in the middle of a circular platform made entirely of glass; the glass platform seemed to be creating an image, of faces that once again struck the cord of familiarity, however Roxas couldn't tell who or what they were from his position. Instead he looked around himself, at the surroundings, but to his dismay he saw nothing – just an endless blackness and not a speck of light glimmering through it. Roxas inched towards the edge of the platform and looked down; a chasm that went beyond, with darkness clouding the bottom – that is… if there was even a bottom.

_Don't… be afraid… _

Roxas nearly fell off the platform in shock. He whirled around, searching for the source of the voice, but he could see none. He was all alone, just him and the shadows surrounding this circle.

"Who's there?" he called. His voice was merely a distant echo, coming back to him.

_Don't fear the darkness… because within the darkness lies a shimmer of light… _

Then there was a door. Roxas walked towards it, gazing at it up and down, wondering where it came from. Roxas looked around.

"Who are you?"

It was a while before the voice decided to speak again, and when it did, it replied:

_You know who I am… I have been with you all along…I am that essence… that part of you which is bathed in light… _

Roxas was left even more befuddled. What part of him was bathed in light? He wondered. He was a mere shadow… a shell… he couldn't possibly be part of anything, neither the light nor the darkness… Roxas looked at the door, which was still left untouched, unopened. He reached out, curious, to open it and see.

_The door is still shut… are you ready for it? _

Roxas hesitated. What _was_ beyond the door? He'd felt so sure of himself before, but now that the voice had spoken he was no longer confident.

_Beyond this door lies the darkness…but behind the darkness… lies the true light… _

Roxas took in a deep breath, reached forward to grab the handle and yanked it open. There was a flash, something whizzing through him so fast he couldn't see, and he was sucked in, falling from the sky and towards the earth with a speed he'd experienced once before. When he reopened his eyes, he was quite sure he'd be dead, but to his surprise he was perfectly fine; he pulled himself to his feet and looked around. He noticed that he was in another platform, only there was a pathway that stretched all the way towards the heavens.

_You've chosen the path of the Warrior… but whether you use this power to aid others or yourself… is up to you… _

There was a spark of light that glowed between his fingers, a stroke of warmth enveloping his entire palm before it finally settled into form; the Keyblade was in his hand. Roxas had the grace to feel lost, but he looked up at the trail leading upward and felt the Keyblade give a voluntarily tug forward, as if telling him the answer towards the next clue.

Roxas, Keyblade in hand, started up the pathway when something up ahead caught his eye. There were pools of darkness with something white with threads spiraling from its side rising above them. Roxas immediately became alert – he knew all too well when Dusks were ready to take shape. The Dusks rose from the pools below their feet and began slithering their way towards him. In his hand, the Keyblade began jerking, trying to pull him forward to the nearing enemy.

_There will be times when you must fight… but do not fear… for you hold the mightiest weapon of all…_

Roxas swung the blade forward, swishing and slashing, his battle strokes like a paintbrush on paper; one by one the Dusks withered into bursts of blue light, becoming nothing as he went for another and then another and another. He rushed forward as he obliterated more Dusks in his path. He'd reached the end of the trail, which led to another door up ahead. Without waiting, without thinking, without even considering what warnings the voice might have had for him before he'd decided to enter, he pulled the handle forward and was sucked in by another flash.

Roxas awoken to another platform; he looked around, but there were no more paths for him to walk through, no more doors for him to be pulled in to.

He was alone.

_If you still do not realize it… we are within the depths of your heart… the far corners that have been covered by the darkness… what you hold is the last vestige of the light you carry within you. _

Roxas looked at the Keyblade.

_However…do not be dismay… for small sizes can carry with them extraordinary potential…Just hold on to the light… and do not fear the shadows…_

Roxas felt the platform beneath him begin to rumble; the Keyblade in his hand jerked, pulling him forward again. Then he saw it, massive blue ribbons swirling and a metal armor head appearing from the abyss below; the symbol of the Nobodies planted on its face. Roxas stood ground as the giant Dusk – the Twilight Thorn as he'd recognized its appearance – stood onto the platform, spotting him standing there.

Without warning, the Twilight Thorn lashed its giant tentacles, throwing him backwards. He felt the Keyblade being wrenched away from him. Roxas quickly gathered himself, held his hand forward and the Keyblade disappeared in a flash of light, appearing instantly in his outstretched hand just as another tentacle shot forward. He deflected the attack, rushing towards the giant Dusk, swinging the Keyblade and evading narrow attacks from the blue and white ribbons shooting forth from beneath its armor. He jumped high, directing his Keyblade toward its big metal head for a critical hit when the tentacles shot towards him, pulling him away before he could strike.

The Twilight Thorn watched him, as thought carefully inspecting him, then took out a slithering ribbon from its side which suddenly became like a jagged knife, poised to attack. The Twilight Thorn struck, the sharp ribbon shooting straight for him, but Roxas quickly threw the Keyblade, sending the attack swerving towards the metal head. The Twilight Thorn roared in agony, releasing Roxas from its grip. Roxas felt the Keyblade return to him again, and without a second thought he ran towards the giant Dusk, Keyblade held tight and ready to strike for the final blow.

The Dusk looked up and Roxas struck the Keyblade in its face. There was a pause as the Twilight Thorn went rigid and then a burst of light erupted; the Twilight Thorn jerked and shook violently before vanishing within the spark of blue light. Roxas felt himself being thrown back by the unexpected force of the explosion, reeling over the edge of the platform and into the darkness. He yelled out for the voice, anyone… anything… but there was no one.

Roxas shut his eyes tight, feeling the world around him close in. He was falling… falling… into darkness…

_Do not forget: You are the one who will open the door to light… _

Something… no someone was pulling him up again; their hands taking his and drawing him to his feet. Roxas tried to squirm through the dark, trying to find his way, but the hand didn't let go and continued to yank him forward.

_C'mon Roxas, let's go…_

Roxas peeked open his eyes, his vision blurry. He could make out an outline of someone up ahead, someone standing in the darkness. There was a giggle that tickled his ear as the person laughed at him, their hand still holding his.

_You can do it… I know you can…Now, c'mon, get up… you still have a long way ahead of you…_

Blue eyes… he saw blue eyes just as his vision finally settled, but he was already going back; his world enveloped in light. The hand, at long last, released his own, letting him get swept away.

_We'll meet again… I promise… _

_Roxas… Roxas… Roxas…_

"ROXAS! Wake up!" Kairi was shaking him awake and yelling in his ear. Roxas's blue eyes flew opened, wild, he grabbed for the nearest object beside him, forgetting that he possessed something far more menacing than a flower vase, and prepared for some kind of attack. But as he let his eyes fall he was unprepared to have Kairi's face so close to his, their noses barely a meter apart and the scent of tropical fruits so tangible he could almost taste it… Whatever he'd been expecting, whether it be a Heartless or a Dusk… it hadn't been this.

Realizing the minimum proximity between them, he let out a yelp, jerking backwards and falling face first onto the floor.

He rubbed his nose, not to mention his forehead, which were all victims of a very painful fall, before whirling around and giving Kairi a glare he'd hoped would make HER fall and see how it feels. However, he had to remember Kairi was a very evil person and could not be dissuaded by anything he'd mustered to intimidate her. Kairi giggled into her hand, thinking his fall, in her opinion, was really amusing.

Roxas shot her a look, telling her that his fall was not something to be made fun of. Kairi giggled again, and Roxas, with a heavy sigh of defeat, wondered why he even bothered. Last night, he couldn't even began to process why he'd even considered coming back here – she had tortured him enough yesterday and he was rather confident that today would be no exception. But after last night, as they both stood by the beach with her watching that other island and him, well, watching _her_… he could not find it in him to say no when she'd asked.

However, he HAD refused to use her room as his sleeping quarters, and with an exasperated sigh out to the world she had agreed to let him sleep in the living room. He would have made a barrier around the perimeter if he knew she'd be waking him up so rudely.

"Breakfast is on the table," she told him, pointing over at the other room connected to this. Roxas could smell the scent of bacon and eggs and his stomach respond to it immediately. Kairi grinned when she'd heard.

She was already dressed for school; her collared shirt rolled up on the sleeves, her skirt… he frowned… her skirt was entirely too short for what he'd call a suitable uniform dress code. Then again, as she walked around the room, with his eyes trailing after her, he realized that he really didn't mind.

It did, however, make him more conscious of his own wear, which was not only lacking in the department but was probably equivalent as having one's skirt too high above their knees. He had slept without a shirt on that night and the shorts he'd borrowed were barely zipped on right. He was just fixing them on properly when Kairi shouted from the doorway.

"Anyways, I'm off!" When Roxas looked, Kairi was slipping on her shoes. Then she looked at him and pointed at him warningly. In alarm, Roxas took a step back, thinking if he let her get this close to him and with a look like _that _on her face his nose and forehead wouldn't be the only things suffering from pain. "If," and she emphasized this with a well-meaning glare, "I find out that…that… you've blown up the house or something! I swear I'll—"

"Kill me? Murder me in my sleep? What?" Roxas said, feeling insulted that she'd even accuse him of something so stupid, so juvenile, so unlike him!

"—lock you up in that pink room for the rest of your sorry life!" Kairi finished. Roxas had never thought his face could contort into so many different expressions before, and at lightning speed. He was…shock, angry, shock, terrified, shock…and… did he say shock? Kairi's smile took on an air of someone who'd just won the multi-million dollar question.

Whatever Roxas had been expecting, it hadn't been that. Needless to say, Kairi left the house grinning cheerfully while Roxas watched after her with something acute to 'bloody murder' written on the fine edges of his teeth as he scowled and clenched his jaw.

Girls, he thought as he shut the door and fell back on the couch, were pure evil. He couldn't possibly fathom the lengths or the depths they'd go to just to get their message across, but he was beginning to understand that lengths and depths were definitely along the lines of 'black mail'.

Roxas tried to get back to sleep, but he just couldn't. He tossed a little, trying to shut the light out that was seeping in through those yellow curtains, but found that he was too awake now to finally ease back into the pillows and relax. Roxas groaned, pushed away the sheets and then made his way into the kitchen, where there was a plate filled with freshly cooked bacons and fried eggs sizzling on the table; beside it was a glass of milk and a bowl of cut up apples.

He ate in silence and then placed his empty utensils and plates into the sink. He looked at the fridge for a moment in mild curiosity and felt his lips quirk into a smirk. By the handle was a pink post-it note that said in bold, neat writing: **DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!** There was a doodle of an angry 'I mean it' face near the bottom, as though to stress the grave consequences that would follow if he should disobey.

And of course, naturally, Roxas violated that rule, and swung open the fridge door. There was another post-it not on one of the shelves, this one, bigger and bolder and ended with at least a hundred exclamation marks: **I'M DEAD SERIOUS!** The drawing of the face this time had not an angry pout but was now glaring and baring its teeth.

Roxas got the point.

He shut the fridge door, amused. Kairi was the strangest, most entertaining person he'd ever met. He didn't think she'd ever cease to surprise him.

With that, he quickly changed into another pair of shorts and a new shirt and left the house, setting his trail towards town. When he arrived, he sat himself in the sand, his eyes gazing upward toward the sky. Just looking at it made him think of blue eyes – the ones he'd seen in his dreams just before Kairi woke him up.

What was that dream? He wondered. It was so strange, yet he couldn't place where, or how for that matter, he had felt like he'd been there before. It would seem that Destiny Islands wasn't the only place he felt a strong sense of familiarity towards. However, he could remember the feel of the darkness as he fell into its depths, strangling and keeping him hold while he fought for air. And if that wasn't bad enough, he'd felt sore where that giant Dusk had whipped and thrown him. Was everything he'd dreamt about simply just that… a dream…? It had felt so real.

And… who had grabbed hold of him while he was fighting his way through the shadows? Someone had taken his hand and led him towards the light, their hands smooth and small over his own… Then there was that voice, which kept speaking to him, guiding him through and reassuring him that everything would be okay…

It had to be real… right?

Arriving to town was like arriving to a place where everyone new anything and everything about each other, their names, their families, etc… and when something foreign just suddenly walked in without say, the surprise shown clear on everybody's faces. Roxas felt everyone's eyes on him again, watching him carefully, whispering amongst themselves and pulling children along who were gaping and pointing.

Roxas didn't know what possessed him to come here when it was apparent he wasn't quite… welcomed, at least not by the town folks. He just felt… compelled to come here, was all. He couldn't quite explain this either; it was like something was telling him he was supposed to be here. Trouble was… he didn't have any clue why.

Roxas moved through the crowd, hands shoved in his pockets as he kept his eyes blatantly from the many stares and whispers he knew was going on around him. Then he felt it; that spark, that unmistakable atmosphere of something not quite right in the word… Roxas looked around, trying to find the source of this sensation, and when he saw it, he was not prepared for it at all.

There was someone standing near the centre of the crowd, watching him beneath a black hood cloak. And what was so intriguing about them is no one seemed to notice they were there; it was as though Roxas was the only person aware that there was a hidden presence amongst them. He felt someone collide right into him – it was a man, who was balding on the head and had a large belly; he gave Roxas an annoyed look.

"Watch where you're going, you little—"

But Roxas wasn't listening. His eyes flew back to cloaked figure, who had disappeared through the crowd and was making their way down the streets. Roxas panicked – if this was someone from the Organization…

He didn't finish the thought. Roxas bolted from his place and ran straight down the street.

* * *

Kairi could not concentrate. It wasn't because the teacher talked absolute nonsense – _I mean… when the hell am I going to **need**_ _this in actual life? _Or because she kept getting distracted by every little thing going on around her – _Was Selphie's hair always that bouncy-looking… Tidus is falling asleep again… Oh look! A butterfly! _–

She just…couldn't concentrate. She kept thinking about – and with this she proceeded to grit her teeth – Roxas and the fact that he was waltzing around her living room half-naked. She should have technically been horrified, if not disgusted, by the mere idea; he was a jerk after all… and while yes, he had his moments where he could be real sweet, like yesterday at the beach, she still should not be looking. What compelled him to pull her back like that anyway? What made him feel as though he should comfort her?

Kairi could still feel his fingers pressed against her skin and the way they were standing so close, his eyes bluer than they ever had been before… she had almost fooled herself into thinking it was really Sora who was the one holding her and not Roxas.

She sighed. She could not explain her mixed thoughts no more than she can understand them. She didn't even know Roxas, let alone encompass half the things that were running through his head…trying to understand him was like trying to understand life, love, the world; it was complicated and downright confusing. You thought you knew something when in reality… you hadn't learned a thing. Roxas was just someone who suddenly made an appearance into her life, making it go up and down, side-ways and in circles – like a rollercoaster ride.

However, when he had his back turned she would find herself, unwillingly, sneaking glances at him. Kairi pursed her lips together.

She was still convinced that by now Roxas had already burned down her entire house. She had left post-it notes stamped all across the kitchen for obvious reasons. But that didn't clarify why she had this sinking feeling that not only was her house up in smoke but her fridge was also bare?

She watched as the teacher now drew a triangle on the board, with point A and point B on one end, indicating the distance between them and the angles; Point C was left blank, waiting for its final answer.

"Now, with the equation, can anyone please tell me the length and angle of Point C?" said the teacher. "Kairi?"

Kairi stared at her, puzzled, and then at the board, equally as puzzled. Again – just where in the world was she going to need this? The real world was not made of triangles and point A's and Point B's. The real world was in conflict, probably on the verge of destruction for all she – and the rest of this miserable class – knew. And there was someone, a person she loved and cared for deeply, out there fighting for its survival. Kairi knew that that was where the real Point C was, the length between her and Sora and the angle was the obstacles that lay there between them.

* * *

Roxas followed the Unknown all the way to an alleyway, where there were barely a lot of people around, which was a good thing, because if a fight was to suddenly ensue, he wouldn't need to be distracted by getting innocent citizens involved. So, when he felt it was safe, he summoned the Keyblade to his hand.

"Hey you – wha?" He blinked, suddenly very confused. There was no one there, the alleyway completely empty, save for a couple pieces of paper and empty pop bottles – otherwise nothing; zip, nil, zilch. "Where the hell—"

Something whizzed past him from behind. Roxas whirled around, Keyblade at the ready when… his expression dropped… he spotted a butterfly. It was fluttering near him, bright red and looked as though it was _glowing_ – the weirdest looking butterfly he'd ever seen. Then again he was new to this island, so maybe all the butterflies looked this bizarre. But still… as Roxas peered closer to look for a second time he realized that _this_ butterfly had only a single wing, the other just…not there. Roxas scratched the back of his head as the one-winged butterfly circled him, now rethinking about whether it was possible for a butterfly to exist with just one wing, and if he'd ever came across one like this during his time here before.

Again he came up with a blank. Roxas frowned. The butterfly didn't look like it was having difficulty flying and was just… fluttering by him, like it was natural that it should be with only a single wing. As it hovered next to him, Roxas, with his free hand, reached out in curiosity, letting his fingers brush the very edges of its wing. It was as though at that one contact the butterfly suddenly understood, had ceased to circle him and instead landed at Roxas's open palm.

Roxas watched in amazement as the butterfly's red glow seemed to pulsate, its brilliance brighter, before it was moving again, only this time landing on the spot just below his left shoulder, that place within him he wished he had. Its one wing twitched and then the next second it had melded right into him, its glow disappearing entirely.

Roxas reacted quickly, his hand flying to that place the butterfly had become a part of. What the hell? He was still trying to decipher what it was that just happened. What was that?

He looked around, his world suddenly spinning and contorting into shapes he hardly recognized. Roxas placed a hand by the wall to steady himself, but found that he could not escape the black edges that were slowly swallowing his vision. Voices… he could hear voices again… their whispers getting louder and louder by the second. Roxas clutched his ears, trying to block out the noise but he couldn't – his world continued to spill out of control, his vision slowly, and slowly still, becoming darker and darker…

The last he saw before he was consumed by darkness was someone walking over him, their face hidden by a big, black hood…

* * *

"_I bring forth our newest and thirteenth member – Roxas!" Xemnas declared. "'The Key of Destiny'." _

_Roxas didn't say anything, his eyes directed on that spot on the wall just above Xemnas's head; however, he was fully aware that he was being watched. All around him were other Nobodies like him, each of them staring down from their high chairs as Xemnas anointed him. Some were looking at each other mutely, but they each shared the same look of puzzlement and growing defiance on their faces; others looked intrigued by his presence, saying nothing and stroking their chins, while the rest seemed to think it was all a big joke and were smirking. _

_They were all much older than he was, and perhaps it was that that they thought it was strange and foolish for Xemnas to be taking in such inexperience onto their team. Roxas stared at the ground, feeling doubtful now about his decision. _

"_What exactly can he do, Xemnas?" called out one. He sat on one of the much higher chairs in the dome. His hair was a bit fray, long and rose-colored; he was looking at Roxas with every bit of dislike. _

_A blonde woman beside him laughed. "Yeah, Xemnas, he looks likea shrimp to me," she said, indicating at Roxas's somewhat skinny frame. "Cute though," she added with a grin. _

"_Too bad 'cute' ain't gonna cut it at this joint," said a muscular man gruffly. _

"_Ah, c'mon, give the kid a break," said another man with a patch over his right eye and a jagged scar down the length of his left cheek; it was obvious from the way he kept smirking that he was one of those who thought the idea was comical._

_However, Roxas wasn't smiling at all, nor did he think it was funny that they'd all thought he was some big joke they could all baby and poke fun at. Roxas could not help but grit his teeth at the mere mention of the word 'kid'. He was most certainly NOT a child – he may have been the youngest among all of them but that didn't mean he was any less of an adult than they were._

"_Oh, I know!" said a man, who had an unsual haircut; strands of brown hair stood on ends at the top of his head like a thick bush while some of the looser strands fell over his eyes and the sides of his face. He kept strumming his fingers at something, his feet tapping to a non-existent song only he could hear; Roxas thought he looked ridiculous doing it. "He can be our mascot – every Order has to have a mascot, don't you think?"_

_The person beside him simply shook their head but didn't say anything; his cool blue hair covered half of his face so that the most Roxas could make of him was his red eyes. _

_Well, it would seem like everyone in this room thought he was incapably of doing anything other than be a waste of their time, Roxas thought bitterly, glaring heatedly at the ground. _

"_Just face it, Xemnas," said the fray-haired man, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. "The kid will only be a burden to us. He has to go." _

"_Well, I think you're wrong!" Roxas found himself saying. _

_Everybody went quiet and soon the whole court of Nobodies were all looking at him. Roxas took a step forward and pointed at the fray-haired man. "Fight me," he said, highly aware that this man was ten hundred times his battle experience and could probably whip his ass in two seconds flat, but the source of rationality fleeted from his mind. All he could think about now was proving this man wrong, and restoring the last of his pride. "Fight me, and I'll prove my worth." _

_Xemnas smirked, thinking this was amusing. "Well, you heard him, Marluxia," he said. "You wanted to know what he can do… so here's your chance." _

_Marluxia stared at Roxas for a brief second as though he couldn't quite believe what he'd just heard, before waving his hand dismissively. "Sorry… I don't fight weaklings." _

"_Weaklings, huh?" said Roxas, who was getting angrier by the second. "Or are you just too afraid to find out which of us is the better fighter."_

"_Oh, man, Marluxia," said the blonde with an amused laugh. "I think he just asked if you were chicken." The rest of the Order began to laugh. The blonde leaned to whisper something in Marluxia's ear, but said it loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're not going to let him get away with that, are you?" _

_Marluxia clenched his jaw and then jumped off his chair. He landed in front of Roxas with ease; if he'd disliked Roxas before, he really hated him now. However, his fury lifted slightly, as he said, "There's no way you can fight someone of my experience. If you fight me…I'll only end up killing you."_

"_Prove it…" Roxas hissed. _

_Marluxia didn't say anything as everybody turned to look at him; his eyes narrowed. "Alright, I accept your challenge. If you can hit me **once** – at least once – then I'll consider if you're worthy of joining this team. However, if **I** managed to knock you out before you can even hit me… then instead I'll determine your punishment for challenging me."_

"_Fine, you're on," said Roxas. "One hit is all I need." _

"_Don't get so cocky, kid," Marluxia growled, his power rapidly rising. "You're forgetting that I'm a thousand years your experience!" _

_Roxas was suddenly blown back by the unexpected rush of power that had ignited. The supremacy was so amazing, so vast that Roxas found that even as he did his best to stand grown against the violent winds there was no real way of ever defeating Marluxia, who had vanished in a burst of pink petals and then reappeared again, only this time, carrying a scythe in his hand. _

_He was grinning menacingly at Roxas, who was trying to defend himself from being knocked back against the tirade storm that kept coming his way. "Still wish to fight me, Twerp?" His sadistic little smile soon disappeared and he was left looking furious. "WELL IT'S TOO LATE! PREPAPRE… TO MEET MY WRATH!"_

_Marluxia was charging straight for him, but Roxas could not protect himself because the wind was far too strong – he couldn't stand up!_

_**Move… move… move, Roxas… MOVE! **He let out a scream as he moved aside from Marluxia's attacks in the last minute, but the edge of the scythe had cut through his coat and Roxas could feel the sting of a new wound forming across his arm. _

_Everybody was murmuring softly to each other, surprised that he had even avoided such an attack. Even Marluxia looked bewildered, but his expression immediately reverted to anger again. _

"_Hm… I guess you're not as weak as I thought… No matter," he said, as he swung his scythe over his head. "This time…" he hissed venomously. "I will NOT miss." _

_**C'mon Roxas… you have to get up… you have to fight…**_

_Roxas was still catching his breath; evading that attack alone had taken a lot out of him. He looked at Marluxia, who was grinning in amusement at him; he had not even broken a sweat yet and here he was, panting and trying to regain strength fast. Roxas clutched at the cut on his arm tightly. _

"_What's the matter… has the baby had too much already?" said Marluxia, laughing. The blonde woman laughed in unison. _

"_Finish him off, Marluxia!" she called excitedly._

"_You're finished, kid…" murmured Marluxia coldly. He'd griped the scythe in his hands and then charged forward. _

_It was as though time had stood still as Marluxia ran towards him; Roxas could hear a voice shouting his name, calling him… _

_**Roxas… Roxas… Roxas… ROXAS! **_

"_YOU'RE DEAD!" Marluxia's voice came loud and sudden; his scythe coming down. _

_Roxas felt warmth touch his fingers and in a rush he heard metal clashing against metal. He looked up and realized that the Keyblade was in his hand, blocking against Marluxia's attack. Marluxia was looking shocked, as well as every body else in the room. _

"_What! A Keyblade!" Marluxia shouted with disbelief. He looked to Xemnas, who did not say a word but simply took on an amused smirk. _

_Roxas shook awake from his stupor and shoved Marluxia aside. He looked at the Keyblade in his hand, thinking… **Had that been the voice who called me?** _

"_Hey, Xemnas, just what exactly are you trying to pull here?" demanded Marluxia, who was angrier than ever. _

_Xemnas did not reply and kept his eyes on Roxas unwaveringly._

_Marluxia scoffed. "Pft…" he huffed. He threw Roxas an ugly look, which stated 'I'll beat you to the ground, Keyblade or not' and charged forward for the third time. _

_But Roxas remained unfazed and unmoving. _

"_What… is he crazy?" demanded one of the other Nobodies. "He can't just stand in the middle of a direct attack – what the hell is he thinking?" _

_Roxas felt the corners of his mouth quirk into a smirk, as another light spread through his fingers and he was gripping another Keyblade in his hand. _

"_Two!" _

_Now the crowd was really enticed by this new development; even some of the skeptical ones had edged a little closer to their chairs to get a better view._

_Roxas whirled both Keyblades with obvious skill; the others had 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' painted on their faces, some beckoned Marluxia forward. Roxas was barely aware of someone in the background, yelling out, "Begin!" because in a flash he'd already charged onward, strength pulsating through his veins just waiting to be released.

* * *

_

Voices… he could still hear the voices… they were close by…

Roxas opened his eyes; his vision was blurred, but he was slowly making out shapes, smudgy images of things he knew were familiar. There was a building and a fence just a few feet away from him, and surround him were litters of papers and glass bottles. Everything eventually returned to normal and he instantly remembered everything – the guy in black, the red butterfly…

Roxas pushed himself to sit up, realizing with a bit of surprise that he'd been lying down at all. He'd blacked out… right after he'd touched that butterfly… it was still all jumbled and he couldn't really make out any sense out of it. Looking around, however, he vaguely wondered just how long he'd been laying here before he finally came to. Roxas placed a hand over his chest, the place where the butterfly had disappeared into… then his hand was moving everywhere, his face, his arms, his legs, heck even his butt, to check for any sign of injuries. Seeing none, Roxas could only sit where he was, feeling definitely puzzled over, well, everything.

It didn't make any sense… and the more he tried to figure it out, to line the pieces up, the more it confused him, the pieces blurring and failing to come together.

"I'm telling you, Ivanhart… this is definitely going to come back to us."

Suddenly alert, Roxas quickly got up from where he was and hid himself against the nearest trash can. People were coming out of the building and were busily talking, with looks of total distress on their faces.

"I have to agree with him, I'm afraid," said another man with white hair – he was obviously Ivanhart, the man the other was speaking to. "We can't let this conspiracy become a…a…another catastrophe! You remember what happened three years ago, Ansteen?"

The other man next to him, who had brown, coffee colored hair, rubbed his beard and nodded in grave agreement, "Yes," he spoke quietly, as though just remembering the incident was terrible, "so many lives were lost… it was almost a miracle how the island could have ever been the same again."

"We ought to be careful," said another man, whose hair was grey and thinning near the top. "We don't want this world to perish like the one that happened before…you know that pla—"

"Yes, yes, we know, Wally, we know!" snapped Ansteen, his eyes flickering everywhere as though there might be hidden cameras in the vicinity. "Not so loud… someone might here you…"

Roxas, who was still hiding, had no idea what they were talking about, and wondered why, whatever it was they were speaking of, they had to speak of it like it was forbidden or a secret of some sort.

"Do you want another conspiracy to occur like the last one?" said Ivanhart to the last person standing amongst them. He was a rounded man with a bowl hat and a sharp moustache; so far he'd been quiet. "Mayor?"

The Mayor jumped, then uttered lamely, "No, of course not, Counselor…"

"Then you must bring the boy to us immediately. We'll lock him up for the time being while we think of what to do with him," said Ansteen.

"But…" said the Mayor, who looked now conflicted.

"Oh, please don't, Mayor, we've already gone through this before!" Wally snapped. "You know it's for the island's own good."

"Mayor, I think I speak for the rest of us when I say we do NOT want anymore of…of…those fiends – the Heartless… running amuck the island again!" At this Roxas perked up. Heartless? These people knew about the Heartless? He leaned just a little closer in order to hear them. "If we let that boy stay here, who knows what will happen!"

"The last time, Mayor, we let two – TWO children – onto our island premises fourteen years ago because _you_ insisted," said Ansteen sharply. "And then shortly after another arrived here three years after those two children did… during the same time another world was destroyed—"

"Please, Ansteen," said the Mayor quickly, "this is _neither _the time_ nor_ place to discuss this."

"And when will it be, Mayor?" said Ivanhart, looking at the other man sternly. "When this world is plunged into darkness? That boy who arrived here two days ago is a threat to us all…"

Roxas's eyes went wide – the boy…they were talking about him!

"If we let him stay here any longer, Mayor… it may already be too late," said Ivanhart softly, as the Mayor bit his lower lip. "You are far too kind, Mayor… even to those that may cause you future harm – but do not penalize the rest of us because you are too…too soft to ensue brute force—"

"He's just a boy…" the Mayor said faintly, and in a tone that made Roxas feel that maybe he may have used that line more than once.

"And those three children had been nothing but children," said Ansteen. "And…well… look at what nearly happened to the island, to our home…"

"He came out of no where, Mayor," said Wally. "Who's to say that he doesn't poise a threat? He didn't have any personal records with him, no ID, no signed authorization stating permission he could cross into our boarders, nothing. For all we know he could be some crazed killer on the lose or a convict from jail who's escaped prison—"

Roxas bristled from indignation. He was most definitely NOT a psychopath nor was he an escaped convict from penitentiary, despite facts that he was, indeed, on the run… but he was certainly not out to kill anyone. He had to push down the impulse to jump out from behind the trash can and tell them that…but that would probably just confirm their beliefs of him being a psychopath – which he WASN'T!

"Although, yes, your speculations are correct… he does indeed look like that other boy who'd arrived on the island fourteen years ago—"Roxas felt himself being whizzed back to the conversation. He barely heard it, but he managed to catch a few words like: other boy…island…look like… When he finally grasped the concept of what Wally had just spoken about, it made him think – they weren't talking about Sora were they?

"He arrived here… that boy… barely knew anything when I asked him if he knew where he'd come from… the only thing he remembered was his name…" said the Mayor solemnly. "…The poor soul. I made sure he was well taken care of… so happy and full of smiles, that boy… always getting into trouble…" the Mayor smiled a little, reminiscing. "And then he disappeared after that storm…"

"Mayor," said Ivanhart, bringing the Mayor back to reality. "It's best if he doesn't come back… it's because of them a-and their kind that…that… nearly wiped us from existence! Well no more – bring the boy to your office as soon as possible. The Council will decide his charges punishment—"

"But—" began the Mayor as the three men began walking off.

"—No buts, Mayor," said Ansteen. "We'll see you tomorrow. Good day."

With that, he and his fellows disappeared down the street, as the Mayor looked down at his hands with a sigh. Roxas watched him for a moment, as he shook his head, still with that distressed look on his round face and walked off down the street. When he was sure that none of the men was coming back, Roxas stood up, feeling a little shaken by what he'd just overheard.

They were going to come after him too… Roxas sighed. Now he was positively sure that there wasn't anyone on this island who didn't hate his guts. It would explain the near one hour glances everyone was giving him lately. Roxas felt his teeth clench together and his fingers ball up together into tight fists.

Kairi… he thought as he re-routed his way around the town. He had to find Kairi…

* * *

He found the trail again that led back to the village. Kairi… he had to find Kairi… but he had no idea where the hell her school was or how the hell it looked like for that matter. All he knew was the fact that the girls there wore skirts way too high up their knees and boys like Tidus and Wakka skip the last class because they have a "free period".

But that didn't help him to say the least. He was half-way near Kairi's place when he heard rustling – like boxes and expensive china were being juggled and moved. Roxas looked to his left and saw a woman, who was around her forties maybe, had brown hair with streaks of grey sprouting everywhere; she was carrying three very heavy looking boxes in her arms, and appeared to be struggling.

Roxas watched as she swayed a little, readjusted the boxes in her arms before beginning her ever cautious journey to the back of her house. There was something, something comforting, about this woman that made Roxas feel like he knew her too. It was this that probably made him cross the trail and walk back over to her. She nearly dropped the box in her hand when he swiftly caught it.

The woman looked surprised for a moment before she let out a breath, looking relieved.

"Here… let me get that for you," said Roxas, taking the other two boxes from her. It was pretty heavy, he had to admit, and couldn't help but give the woman an incredulous stare as if to ask 'you were planning to carry all these?'

She understood his expression immediately and smiled. "I knew I should have taken just two boxes instead of three, but well… I really wanted to put these boxes away, you know?"

Roxas still didn't really get it; a woman of her age shouldn't be out storing boxes that weighed more than her. He didn't press the matter though, and said, "So… where do you want these?"

"Oh!" She gave him a guilty look. "I'm sorry – it's right here… come this way."

She led him toward the back of the house, where there was a little shed. She opened the door for him, ushering him in. Inside was in a kind of disarray, everything from old running shoes to fishing rods to deflated beach balls were left lying about; about a few times Roxas found himself maneuvering around various objects so as not to slip and fall.

The woman seemed to sense his troubles, and said, "I know… I've been meaning to get this place cleaned up. My son was supposed to clean it up, but he never got to." She moved around at what looked to be like a really big parasol. They reached the back of the shed where there were multiple shelves; on some of the shelves there were random action figures half-fallen onto their sides and there was a little toy skirt gun.

Everything in this shed felt like something he knew or once had seen before, which was strange considering he'd never had any toys to play with in his life. He couldn't even remember anything before his days in the Organization… the memory was blurry. But… this place… seemed to be speaking out a message to him, something he had known from way back.

The woman shoved away a few game boxes off to the side, dusted her hands on her apron and then looked back to Roxas.

"Here," she said, indicating the spot she'd just cleared, "put those there for me, will you please?"

Roxas did as he was told, but upon doing so he'd stepped on something – it squeaked once before Roxas felt himself slipping and falling on his back. The boxes he'd been carrying had all dropped unceremoniously on top of him, letting lose everything that had once been inside. He heard the woman gasp and then rush to help him.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, pushing off the boxes. "Are you alright?"

Roxas threw a shirt that had wrapped around his neck, pushed away a toy steam boat that would 'hoot!' each time he'd pressed the top and had set aside a pair of large shoes which, from the fall, had somehow managed to sock him on the head.

"I'm peachy…" he muttered, throwing a ball of socks that had in some way entered in his pockets.

The woman nodded, knelt down next to him and started putting everything back inside the boxes. Feeling slightly obligated, Roxas picked up a pile of shirts that said 'Destiny High' in blue stitching at the top left. He suddenly recalled Kairi wearing something similar, only he didn't know that Destiny High was the name of their school.

"Are these your son's?" he found himself saying.

The woman looked up, surprised again, then looked at the shirt in his hand and nodded quietly.

"Why are you putting these away then?" Roxas asked. "Wouldn't your son need these?"

"My son hasn't been home for three years," she stated coolly, throwing another shirt inside the box. She even took the one he was holding and proceeded to throw that in with the rest of the stuff.

"What, did he um…" _die_, he wanted to say, but couldn't. The woman, of course, seemed to know what he wanted to ask and shook her head.

"No… he disappeared during that storm that happened three years ago… Hasn't come back since," she said. Roxas watched her; she'd said this like she'd gotten used to it... like she was resigned to a fate she did not want but had no choice but to simply accept. For some reason, Roxas felt… sad… The woman went on, shoving shirt after shirt, toy after toy, "I don't blame you for thinking he's dead. Most people would assume so after three years of waiting, but I can't seem to think so." She sighed. "I figured… it's time for me to move on… everybody else has."

Roxas didn't know what to say, all he could really do was, well, watch… watch as she packed away her son's things, a son she knew would never come home. And she did all that without a single look on her face, no pain, no sadness… just blank, and that, Roxas realized, was probably the worse than any face at all.

When she was finished, she wiped her hands together, as though she'd just finished a task she thought was most challenging. And maybe it was… Roxas couldn't imagine how she must have felt, putting away all those things, like placing away memories you knew you'd never be able to fully forget.

She then turned to smile at him. "Thanks for your help, really," she said, as they cut through the shed and came out, where the sun was bright and the weather hot.

"Yeah…" said Roxas softly, "…it's no problem."

"Why don't you come inside?" she asked. "I made waffles – it's my treat."

Roxas knew he should refuse. He did, after all, need to find Kairi, and there were a few old loons out there who wanted his arrest. But somehow, that was not what he found himself saying. Instead, he said, "Sure…"

He watched as the woman smiled and he realized, as he entered in through her front door and smelt the delicious scent of freshly baked waffles, that it was that, above everything else that made it worth while.

* * *

It was lunch time, and Kairi was sitting in her desk, strumming her fingers over her sandwich, but hardly touching it. Instead, her eyes were directed out the window again, where she could make out the sight of the beach and the other island just a few ways ahead of it.

"_Kairi… what's the answer? Do you know?" asked the teacher, who was beginning to look impatient. Everybody was looking at her now. From her side, Kairi could feel Selphie's question gaze as everyone stared on in absolute silence, and even Tidus, who normally was asleep at this time of the day, had woken up from his nap to gap at her. . _

_Kairi knew the answer… but it wasn't the answer she knew the teacher wanted to hear. So she said, "No, Sensei… I don't…" _

_Everybody murmured amongst themselves, obviously shock. The teacher frowned. "I'm afraid I do no understand, Kairi… you were following along were you not? You know the equation—"_

_Kairi shook her head. "No… I don't know the answer, Sensei…" she said. _

_The teacher's frown deepened in disapproval. "See it that do know the answer, Kairi… otherwise that's a day in detention for not paying attention in my class."_

_If everybody was shocked that she didn't know the answer before, they were definitely shocked now. Evidently, they weren't expecting someone like **her** to be given a detention, ever._

_Kairi simply looked back at the teacher, her eyes unwaveringly. "I understand, Sensei…" she said. "I'm sorry. It will not happen again." _

_The teacher, seemingly satisfied at this, nodded and then turned her back to the class. She started to write the answers on the board. _

"_Now… to get the answer of Point C you simply…" _

_Kairi drowned out the words, the teachers voice, everyone… her eyes drawn to what lay outside that window. Point C, she thought as she remembered a boy with wild brown hair and eyes the color of the sky… he was Point C. _

"Kairi…" Kairi jumped and looked away from the window. It was Selphie; she was blushing furiously. Now that she thought about it, the rest of the girls in her class were blushing too and hovering by the door.

Kairi frowned and stood up. "What's going on? Why is everybody standing there?" she asked Selphie, whose face, if possible, was getting redder and redder.

Before Selphie could say anything, however, the group of girls by the door began talking amongst themselves in what Kairi would define was the 'squeaky' voice.

"Have you seen him before?" said one.

"He must be new to this school," said another.

"Gosh… I hope he's in our class…" said a third.

"Eek! He's coming over here!" said the first.

They parted, like the red sea in Moses, their faces in awe as someone walked through the middle. Whatever Kairi had been expecting, it wasn't this; she felt her jaw drop, rock bottom, and her eyes widen so large that it barely made room for her nose.

It was Roxas, wearing a Destiny High uniform top; the collar not even folded properly, the shirt barely buttoned and the tie just hanging loose around his neck. If she wasn't so shocked, maybe she would have wondered just where the heck he even _got_ hold of those clothes in the first place. But no, she was still gawking by the time he spotted her and began making his way towards her.

He didn't seem to notice that the rest of the world was watching him in awe. His blue eyes were trained on her, only on her.

"Hey…" he muttered once he reached her. His face became serious. "We need to talk."

* * *

A/N: Ah… the chapter wasn't supposed to end here like I planned… but if I went on any longer this chapter would be at least thirty pages long! So I had to cut it short. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reviewing!

You know the drill!


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